The Lost Siren's Song
by A.I. Kaede
Summary: On a dare, Keith enters a section of the town lake's dead zone. Who would have guessed a Siren was trapped in those waters? And a cute one at that. (Cover art by A.R. Easterling, cowriter is Lillithrose)
1. Chapter 1

(Note: Bolded words are siren song words. The siren has put hypnotizing powers behind it.)

Pidge smirked at Keith. "I dare you to go into the dead zone." The two of them were at the beach. Matt and Shiro were off getting their spot prepared while they stood in front of the pier.

"Why?" Keith raised an eyebrow at them.

"Because there is no way it's dangerous and you are one of the best swimmer. Plus I dared you!"

"Fine." Keith took off his shirt and threw it at Pidge. He ran onto the pier and dove off. It took him a bit to resurface since he started doing dolphin kick. It didn't take him long to reach the dead zone.

Lance has grown acutely aware of his area in this godforsaken spit of a lake. He could hear people but none of them ever came close enough for him to play anymore.

So when he senses someone right there Lance lights up. "Finally." He stays low enough to hide from the...human boy...nice... Hoping he is actually just a human to toy with. After swimming a circle beneath him, lance grins. he's a pretty one too.

Surfacing carefully, Lance grins. "You actually came to visit me?" His voice is melodic even when speaking and his blue eyes glow against the darkness.

Keith turns around as quickly as possible, eyes wide. He wasn't expecting anyone else to be in the dead zone. He then glares, noticing the odd details of this person's face. "I didn't come to visit you. Who are you?"

Lance frowns, almost sadistically. why else would you come here is what Lance wants to say.

"I'm the owner of this lake." Lance grins and swims up to Keith. He doesn't spy any weapons so he isn't too worried. "The name's Lance." Once closer, it's easy to see that he has a trail of scales down his arms and when his hand comes out of the water, there is a slight webbing between his fingers. "And you are trespassing if you didn't come to visit." He says, pointing at him with an eyebrow raised as he swims in a circle around Keith.

Keith sees all the abnormalities and his heart starts to race. He knows that with the speed this creature has, he won't be able to escape easily. "I'm not trespassing. Water areas cannot belong to anyone."

"No?" Lance says plainly then looks around. "I'm fairly certain this is mine." He purrs the words. "And you are in my home." Lance runs his finger up Keith's chest before chuckling. "Not that I mind company." He tilts his head before swimming behind Keith and leaning in close. "Especially company as pleasing to look at as you."

Keith starts to slightly shiver at the closeness. He tries his best not to use violence. He breaks when the creature gets behind him. "Fuck off!" Keith swings his fist at the creature. Not caring for the damage he actually does, he starts swimming as fast as he can back.

Lance easily dodges and swims beneath Keith before surfacing in front of him with a sad pout. " **But I've been alone for so long. I...would love the company.** " lance says sadly before sighing. "But I suppose I understand. After all, I'm not human like you."

Keith is forced to stop, growling a bit. The creatures next words oddly rang through his head. His eyes started to fog up, as if in a daze. "Alone?" Keith asks softly. He knows how horrible it is to be alone.

Just a little push and he's already stopped~ trying not to show his pleasure, Lance runs his fingers along the surface of the water before swimming up to Keith again. "I'm the last to remain here." He sighs. " **Humans are so cruel** ," he whines. "Calling my home a dead zone and leaving me alone. I can't help my kind isn't know well any longer." He swims around him happily. "But you don't seem to mind. So perhaps times are changing."

Keith treads water in order to stay in place. "They are cruel," he agrees, still in a dazed state. Humans are cruel, he remembers all the times he was bullied or pushed off to the side.

"You get it don't you?" Lance sings, hearing the hurt in the human's voice. He wraps his fin under Keith"letting the human rest on his legs. "I know I may look unusual but **I would be kind to you.** " Lance runs his finger over Keith's neck with a smile, revealing white, almost shark like teeth. "You should stay with me."

Keith melts when the creatures touches his neck. If he stays here, he won't have to deal with anymore bullies or judgmental adults. Keith was about to talk but he hears his name being called.

"Keith!" Pidge calls from the edge of the pier.

"Keith!" Shiro calls, standing next to Pidge. Matt is running on the pier to get to the two.

Lance jumps then growls. "More?!" He looks at his human seeing him respond to the name being called. With a snarl, he lets go of Keith, almost pushing him away. "Too many humans. I can't. **Visit again?** " He jumps under the water, not wanting to be spied, he takes off under the surface and angrily growls.

Keith shakes his head, coming out of his daze. He looks around for the creature before turning to his friends. "Pidge! Shiro! Matt!" Keith calls before starting to swim back. He swims to the beach and once he can stand, he runs out of the water. His three friends run up to him.

"Are you okay?!" Shiro asked, he grabs Keith's shoulder and checks for any injuries.

"I'm okay," he reassured Shiro.

"Why did you go out there?! You know no one is allowed near the dead zone!" Shiro yelled. He was both angry and worried for Keith.

"Pidge dared me," Keith answers. He doesn't want to make Shiro worry more so he stays quiet about the creature he ran into.

Lance watches from the distance, arms angrily crossed and teeth grinding. stupid other humans. I finally had one. he growls before swimming into his cave.

"You owe me ten pidgeon," Matt says while holding his hand out with a smile. He then walks beside Keith and hands him the shirt he'd thrown. "Pizza?"

Pidge grumbled and dig through their wallet before slapping a ten dollar bill into Matt's awaiting hand. Keith catches his shirt but doesn't put it on yet. "Yeah. That would sound great," he says. Shiro hands Keith a small towel.

"Killer." Matt laughs. "We're getting a Hawaiian." He points at them all and squints. "Fight me." Pidge rolls their eyes.

"We will get one Hawaiian and one cheese," Shiro compromises.

"Yeah!" Pidge cheered. Keith just smiles slightly. The creatures words rang through his head. 'I would be kind to you' Despite all the horrible people he has met before, he has three amazing friends right here.

Matt nudges Keith and raises an eyebrow. "Aaaand I'm going to destroy you all at Mario kart." He laughs then can't help but look back to the water after seeing the distant look on Keith's face.

Lance sits in the cave, hearing them all still on the beach then swims up to a more distant surface and quietly starts to sing. He knew his voice would sound like just distant music to the others but Keith would be able to tell who it is and hopefully it will remind him to come back soon.

Pidge and Shiro hears the singing but thinks it's from someone else at the beach but to Keith, it was loud and clear. He freezes for a second. 'visit again?' He hopes that no one notices his slight hesitation.

Matt, having been already a bit thrown by Keith's -somehow- unusual quietness. However, he chooses not to comment on it nuat yet. Instead, he tries to hurry everyone along, hungry especially since they'd been stalled by Pidge and Keith's ...game of fate?

"Wait." Matt stops. "I dare you to buy me a milkshake!" He points to Keith, trying to get him back to himself.

Keith glares at Matt. "That isn't a proper dare. Are you going to give me money to go get it for you?" Matt has done this type of a few times before and it would be a perfect way to get him and Pidge alone.

"Damn." He laughs then pulls the ten from Pidge out of his pocket. "Well buy two cuz I bet I can finish mine first. And NO CHEATING AND DRINKING SOME ON THE WAY BACK!"

Keith smirks at Matt, making no promises, as he takes the cash. "Pidge, let's go." Keith leads the way to the store with milkshakes. Once they are far enough away from the older two, he glares at Pidge. "Did you know that there was a creature living in the dead zone?"

"Like...a fish?" Pidge says flatly. "Who would have thought?"

"No! He... He was like a mermaid! Scales and webbed fingers," Keith explained. "I almost died!"

Pidge just stares at Keith. "Look, I get today hasn't been that exciting but...really?" They push their glasses up then groan. "How exactly did you almost die...From this merperson...?" Pidge is pretty positive they aren't convinced. Keith is just trying to get them back. Would be cool though.

"He kept swimming around me! I think he wanted to drag me under!" Keith is frustrated that Pidge wasn't believing him. He almost died because of their dare!

Pidge raises an eyebrow. "I mean, I want to believe you. I really do." They sigh. "But even _if_ there was a merperson there...how? Its a lake in the middle of nothing. How does it survive?"

"I... I don't know." Keith hands Pidge the money. "Let's hurry and get the milkshake though." They enter the shop and Keith orders the two milkshakes with his own money.

"Why not use Matt's money?" Pidge snickers. "So..." They shrug. "Saying it _did_ happen, what did he look like?"

"I already told you! He looked human at first then he had scales on his arms and had webbed fingers." He grumpily takes a sip of his milkshake as they start to walk back.

Pidge laughs. "Matt's gonna be mad you cheated." Then they listen and their lips purse. "You should have gotten a picture. Like...we cant have another nessie myth floating around you know? I need proof!" They snatch Matt's shake and take a drink. "But did he really seem dangerous. Merfolk are usually depicted as so pretty and nice."

"Well I didn't have my phone!" If Keith didn't have a milkshake in his hand, he would raise him up in surrender. "He was pretty but... His voice was weird." He combed a hand through his hair. "It was... hypnotic? I can't remember." He shakes his head. He can remember the words spoken to him but remembering it made his head feel light.

"Ooo," pidge says teasingly. "Do.. You have a crush on a fish?" They laugh a little then steal another drink of Matt's shake. "Well if you go back, take a picture. Talk about discovery of the century."

Keith rolls his eyes. "Yeah, I'll go risk my life again." If anyone else has said it like he did, it would be sarcasm but Pidge knows he will actually do it despite the tone. He takes another sip of his milkshake.

"For a -and I quote- pretty merboy with a hypnotic voice?" Pidge raises an eyebrow. " sure you won't " they raise a hand. "Not to mention the fact that you would get to prove nonhuman life on earth." Pidge like him. "Don't lie to me."

Keith blushed and glared at them. He didn't say anything before taking another sip of his milkshake. He made sure that once they were close to where Shiro and Matt was getting the pizza, it looked like he didn't drink any. He held the cup a certain way to hide it.

Pidge just laughs but stays quiet about the drink. As they eat their food, pidge can't help but imagine how cool it would be if there was a merperson there. Their face must get lost a few times because Matt teases them. But eventually they all head to play games at the holt house

By the end of the night, Keith had taken first place in every game. Keith chose to sleep on the couch. While everyone else went to sleep, he laid awake, thinking about Lance. His mind would fog up every now and then. The sun started to rise and Keith has still yet to get even a wink of sleep. Growling in frustration, he sits up aggressively at grabs his phone. He then digs through his bag to get out the phone water pouch Shiro made him bring. He quietly exits the house and goes back to the pier.

Lance hears footsteps on pier and perks up. Slightly illogically, he swims up to it. Seeing its Keith, lance grabs Keith's foot and pulls him in. He's so excited his songs still work! The human came back~ "Keith! You came back!" He says in a fit of laughter as Keith struggles to steady himself.

He wasn't expecting Lance to be so close to the pier. Luckily the phone pouch was already around his neck he didn't need to worry about dropping his phone. "Yeah..." Keith trails off, staying couscous.

Lance tilts his head. "You seem tired." He says questioningly as he swims around him, finally wrapping his tail around Keith so he doesn't have to tread water.

Keith is a but surprised on how nice it feels to be sitting on Lance's tail. "I'm okay." He fights the tiredness that wants to be shown on his face. He holds onto his phone through the pouch and just fiddles with it, trying to find the right time to take a picture.

Lance leans in and runs a finger under Keith's eyes, touching the dark circles starting to form. "Is that so?" He raises his eyebrow and laughs. "You can rest if you wish. I don't have anything else to do." Lance is pleased by the feeling of Keith on his tail. Humans are always so warm.

Keith does his best not to push the merman away when he touches his face. Trying to be sneaky about it. He gets the phone to camera mode. He made sure the flash was off last night. While pretending to still be fiddling with it, he takes a picture of Lance.

Lance sees the tiny device and snarls at it a bit when he sees it angled toward him. He shoves it away from him, nearly knocking it from Keith's hand. "What are you doing with that thing?!" He hisses angrily, never having seen something like that before. His ears go back, showing he's actually a bit afraid of whatever it is but his mouth is in a snarl ready to attack it.

Keith is a bit shocked. "I'm just fiddling with it." He turns the phone off then shows Lance. "It's not even on. I brought it just in case someone messages me."

Lance glares a but but starts to relax. "Why would you need a message sent through a little box?" He doesn't quite understand that but ok? It's on his hand? So what does on mean? Lance isn't aware how curiously annoyed he looks. "Your other humans already tired of my beach?"

He doesn't know how to explain the first question so he ignores it. "No, my friends are still sleeping. It's early for most of us... Humans." Saying humans felt weird. "They might ask where I went when they wake up." He hopes the one photo is good enough cause he doesn't think he'll get a second chance.

"Oh." Lance says almost grumpily. He lays back in the water, stretching a bit before admitting. "I haven't been up long wither really. Planned to eat soon. But I don't get much...talkative company." He says while lazily floating in the water, still letting Keith sit on his tail.

Keith felt a bit bad for keeping Lance from eating, even if he seems like a dangerous creature. "Would you like me to... wait while you go eat?" Keith asked while pointing at the pier. He could sit on the pier and it would give him a chance to get more pictures.

"Would you wait?" The words almost sound bitter.

Keith feels a bit unease. "Yeah, I'll wait." He doesn't want to admit but he feels like something bad would happen if he was gone when Lance comes back.

Lance looks back to Keith then smiles before using his tail to help Keith onto the pier. He watches him for a minute, glowing eyes squinted and lips pursed. " **I'll be sad if you leave again without saying goodbye.** " he sings a bit before taking off under the water to catch his breakfast. In a couple of minutes, he resurfaced, a bit further from the pier with a fish in each hand. Glancing over, Lance looks relieved to see Keith still there as he flashes him a smile before turning to start to eat his fish.

Keith climbs onto the pier and question just how strong Lance's tail is. He gets comfortable and is about to fiddle with his phone again when Lance speaks. He is left in a light daze. He couldn't move his legs or arms until Lance resurfaces. Keith forces himself to smile back as he slightly fiddles with his phone again. He still might be able to get a second photo. Not wanting to be too risky, he decides only try one more time. He activates the camera and tries to take rapid fire photos as he slowly moves the phone, not wanting Lance to freak out like last time.

Busy eating, Lance doesn't realize the message thing is back out. He finishes eating then disappears under the water again. When he comes back, Lance is directly in front of Keith. "You didn't leave." He says in a sweet voice while smiling. He splashes Keith then rests his arms on the pier. "So, what do you like to do besides look at your little box?"

Keith furrows his eyebrows when Lance suddenly goes back underwater. He turns off his phone lets it just hang. Keith relaxes his eyebrows when Lance reappears. "Of course I didn't," Keith says as he tried to block the splash with his arm. He shakes the water off before resting his arm again. "I like running and swimming." What else can he say that a merman would understand? Does Lance even understand running?

"Of course I didn't." Lance replies mockingly. "Yeah you're right so normal." Lance swims back under the water and looks Keith over before tracing his fingers over his feet. "Running is with these right?"

Lance's touch tickles slightly but not enough for him to pull his feet away. "Yeah."

"Sounds annoying." He says curtly then touches Keith's legs, as if studying them but doesn't say much.

/uh...dude? Where'd you go? I asked Pidge and they just laughed?/

Matt had been pumped to have a pancake eat o Of with Keith and was more than a bit baffled when he woke to Keith being Mia.

He really want to move his foot away but he would rather not get the merman possibly angry. He feels his phone vibrate against his chest so he checks it. He turns it on and checks his messages. He starts to type then checks on Lance to see if he is freaking out again.

Lance had felt the strange vibrating sensation while admiring Keith's legs and enjoying the warmth radiating off of them but when the weird message box lights up, he darts away, glaring at both Keith and the phone from behind the leg of the pier.

"Why is is doing that?" He hisses again.

"My friends have woken up and they asked me where I am." He looks back down at his phone to quickly send the message.

/I'm at the pier./

"Would it help you if you look at it?" he asks, not wanting this to happen every time he pulls out his phone.

"But you aren't talking." Lance says leerily but cautiously comes up to the pier again. "You just poked it with your thumbs. Do you talk through morse code?" He looks at the thing that is now bright and glowing. While he has no idea what any of the rings on the phone actually are, Lance finds it brilliant and rather enjoyable to look at. When Matt texts back, he jumps, just a little this time. "It moved." He says.

/already? Damn. Want company? I can bring food!/

Keith is a bit amused, you never get to see someone react to modern day technology like this, "It's called texting. Faster way to write to each other." He checks the message. "Looks like I have to go."

/No. I'll come back in a sec./

Lance had swam behind Keith to watch the device light up and his fingers move along all the little squiggles to make more squiggles but his face is far less enthused when he hears the last line.

"You do?" He pouts sadly. "Can't you stay just a little longer?" Lance's ears droop sadly as he looks up to Keith.

/oh alright. Just making sure. Pidge is still laughing btw?/

/Don't worry about it./

"It's a bit of a walk back to the house so I should leave now." Keith tried to sound apologetic. This merman is really pretty though and he only looked cuter when sad.

"Fine." Lance barks then just dives back under the water. He wants to just sing to him so he stays but he's a pretty human. Maybe he can win him over without it. But it's still annoying that he only stayed for a few minutes. However, being a bit worried, he quickly resurfaces to see Keith already walking away. "C-come back later? **please,** " just a little song might work...hopefully.

/but I feel like I'm missing something! And I don't like it #youtwoarerude/

\so...I thought you weren't going back? Can you hear me snickering from there?\

Suddenly in a daze, Keith turns back around to face Lance. "Yeah, I'll back later." Keith smiles at Lance before starting to walk away again. Once he is out of sight from the beach, he shakes his head. The merman must be doing something to him, he keeps zoning out.

/You don't need to be a part of everything!/

\Shut up.\

Lance is still grumpy when he leaves but...at least he's coming back! Hopefully .

\come talk to me when you get home. I need to know how your morning date with the fish went\

\OMG it wasn't a date. I got some stupid photos for you.\

He rolls his eyes and starts sprinting back to the house.

The instant Keith is in the door, Pidge is dragging him away. They slam the door and jump around excitedly. "No fucking with me. You got pictures?!" They look at him with big hopeful eyes.

"Yeah. He almost smacked my phone into the water." Keith takes his phone out of the water pouch and shows Pidge the photos. The first one he took was almost perfect and out of the rapid fire, only two weren't blurry at all.

Pidge goes through them all slowly, zooming in and out before finally just going, " holy shit Keith." They look at them more. "Hooollyyy shit." They plop down on their bed dragging Keith next to them. "First of all, I am sorry for not believing you. Second. These are amazing." Then they raise an eyebrow playfully. "Third...he is pretty you're right."

"I told you." Keith sighs. "I keep zoning out around him. Do you think that's some sort of merman power?" He scratches his head.

"Zoning out?" Pidge thinks for a minute. "Is he singing when you zone out. He could be a siren. If that's the case, you might want to not go back."

"I..." He remembers saying he will go back later today. "I might not have a choice," he says softly. He looks at Pidge with worry.

"Uh.. What?" Pidge says shortly. "Of course you have a choice. Just.. Don't go back?"

"We don't know how far a siren's song can reach. He made me say I'll go back, there is a possibility I won't be able to fight it."

"Wait...really? Goddamnit Keith." Pidge slumps down. "Plus side...I know what he looks like and where he is. Downside YOU CAN'T BREATHE UNDERWATER. AND DID YOU SEE HIS TEETH?!"

"Yeah! They are like shark teeth!" He quickly sends Pidge all the good ones so they have a copy.

"Damnit. Should I do...something? Can I do something? Maybe try headphones? I don't actually know how this works." Pidge looks the pictures over. "I'm going to start looking up information. Gimme a bit and I'll tell you what I got."

"Alright." Keith isn't easy to scare but at this moment, his hands were slightly tingly and his heart was beating fast.

Pidge comes into the living room and snatches Keith's phone and starts to fidget with it. "Ok, if anything happens, hold all three buttons down and I'll know." They hand the phone back. "There is frustratingly little amounts of information but I'm doing what I can. How are you feeling?"

Lance had started to watch the sky, it was getting dark. He wasn't coming back. Lance could just try to pull on his mind. He's heard him so it might work. But it's been a long time and he doesn't want to tire himself out. So he just sends out a flicker, hoping his pouty loneliness would get across to his human.

"Thanks Pidge." He checks his phone, despite knowing he won't be able to see Pidge's modifications. He feels a tug at his brain. "Honestly, I think he is starting to call for me."

"Fuuuck." Pidge starts panicking. "What do I do Keith? Do I help? Is he dangerous? How bad is it? Try to ignore it?!"

Lance gets grumpier when Keith doesn't show. Maybe he's sleeping. He brings his teeth and snatches up a fish to angrily eat and distract himself. Maybe he will wait till morning. Give his human a chance to rest.

"I have no idea! Maybe I should sleep? Or can sirens make people sleep walk?" Keith isn't showing it but he is panicking inside. The small urge to go to Lance is still there but it's not tugging at his brain anymore.

"Well at least if you try to sleep i can keep watch and keep researching." Pidge nods then goes into the kitchen to make coffee. "I am almost in the dark as you so just...try to sleep."

Lance is impatient but hopes to get the human on it's - well mainly - its own accord. He decides it best to sleep in preparation for tomorrow...in case the human doesnt come to visit.

Keith sighs and lays down on the couch. He wonders if they should tell Shiro and Matt just in case something happens. Tired from worrying, Keith falls asleep pretty quick.

Pidge does just as promise and keeps watch all night. Eventually, Matt gets the answer out of them so by morning, all three of the friends know what's going on and are worried for Keith. So, as he wakes up, three sets of eyes are watching him.

"You met a siren?!" Matt nearly shouts before Keith could possibly be all the way awake.

"What?" Keith asks sleepily. "Lance? I met Lance." Unlike Matt, Shiro waited until Keith was awake enough to give a proper answer.

"Keith, why didn't you tell us sooner?" Shiro asked.

"Thought I would save you the worry," Keith answered honestly.

"Oh yeah. Totally not worried. No way. Only have like seven coffees and searched through like twenty nine thousand websites trying to figure out something for you." Pidge lies with an eye roll.

"Seven?" Matt shakes his head. "You should have just had the espresso. I'm telling you-"

"Matt. I swear to fuck."

"Ok but, so the siren's name is Lance. And Pidge is freaking out. But, do you feel like...the creepy siren powers or are we all may be over exaggerating or what?" He puts a hand on his hip. "I am occasionally know for being overdramatic."

Keith felt like he had a small headache while everyone talked. He thought it might be from worrying too much but then it suddenly got worse. Keith clenches his head as it starts to throb. Lance must be awake. "He's awake. He's calling," he says through clenched teeth. It feels different from when he is sudden't put into a daze. It might be because he knows about it this time.

Lance was lonely. His human hadn't returned and he was getting more and more upset by it. It's not like he did anything cruel, right? So why hadn't he come back. Just a small spark of yearning out to him. With a sigh, Lance swims up to the surface and watches for him. some time passes and still nothing. He doesn't want to have to sing yet. He'll give him a little longer. Angrily, he grabs a handful of stones and tosses them into the water.

"Uh..." Matt turns on the radio to some obnoxious music and gives a thumbs up, laughing a little as he does.

The music helps a little. He scratches his head a bit before lowering them back down to his side. "If he starts singing, I don't know if I'll be able to stop myself."

"Then I'm going back to research. You remember what I told you about your phone right? I swear to god if you put it down at all I will...I will...do something!" Pidge storms off after that.

About an hour goes by before Keith still hasn't shown up so Lance grumbles before sitting back on the beach and starting to quietly sing. It was a bit annoying to have to do this, but...Keith came to him. That boy is his human now.

Keith keeps his phone in his hand, ready to give Pidge the signal at any moment. Shiro was overly worried so Matt started up a game for the two of them to play. Keith watched them, finally able to relax for a bit. On the third game, he hears Lance's song. He quickly presses all three buttons on his phone before falling into a daze. Phone still in hand, he starts walking out the door.

Pidge gets the alert and a loud "FUCK" exits the room before they do. They hadn't found anyone to help yet! At that, Pidge just storms out of the house. The locals called that the dead zone. THere had to be a reason. And there had to be someone to help. Matt decided it best to stay back, just in case Keith came back. And Shiro took off after Pidge, determined to help somehow.

On the beach, Lance isn't even positive his song is working. He hadn't sang for anyone in a long time. But it was high time he had a human again. When he finally hears feet shuffling behind him, Lance spins around and stops singing. He's laying with only his tail in the water on the beach. "You said you would come back yesterday." Lance says with a pout.

Still in a daze, Keith sits down next to Lance. "Friends were protecting me," he says softly.

"Tch. I'm not going to hurt you." Lance growls he draws in the sand with a finger, lessening his grip on Keith's mind to see how he will react. "You just said you'd come back and you didn't. It's not nice to lie."

Once out of his daze, he glares at Lance. "You're a siren, you made me say I'll come back." He tried to get up but his body wouldn't move.

"I only magicked one word." Lance growls. "You had to have at least sorta wanted to come back. Trust me, my song could be a lot stronger." Lance digs his fingers in the sand a bit more angrily. "I wasn't even going to sing. I wanted you to come here on your own. Since you said you would." He kicks his tail a bit, irritation causing it to twitch. "But, no, you had to be a liar too."

Keith growls. He may or may not have wanted to see Lance again. "Maybe you shouldn't have been so weird our first meeting. No one likes being called a toy."(edited)

"Well sorry for not being perfectly socially acceptable. There aren't exactly many people to take fucking queues from out here." Lance slams his tail down and grinds his teeth a bit then takes a deep breath. "But whatever you're here now. Are you going to try to leave if I let you go?" He is trying not to look mad, but damnit he wants this human to be his.

Keith isn't going to lie, he is far to angry too. "Of course I am! My friends know I'm here and I'm going to fight to stay out of the water."

Lance grits his teeth and huffs. "Fine." Lance doesn't let Keith leave as he darts under the water. When he comes back he's holding a necklace. "You can't fight against a siren, stupid." Lance says when he resurfaces then places the necklace over Keith's head. "I just wanted a friend. But, fine, be a asshole. I promise I'm better at it than you." Lance sits next to him and looks him over and takes a deep breath. "So. If I promise not to hurt you will you come with me?"

"What are you putting on me?!" He asks as the necklace is out on him. Keith is still glaring at Lance but it lessens a little. "You really won't hurt me?" He feels his resolve start to weaken and he doesn't understand why. One pretty merman can't be more important than his three friends!

"Do you want to drown?!" Lance barks before holding the necklace up. "It's magic. What did you think I was stupid enough to want to be friends with a human and not have something like this ready?! And no, I obviously won't hurt you. I want you to be my human. What good is a dead human besides more food? I have that." Lance's tail flips back and forth. He's clearly irritated but trying like hell to be agreeable. "If you would have oh I don't know, not lied to me and actually came back yesterday then most of this wouldn't be a surprise . But now I have to throw it all at you at once. So blame yourself for that."

Keith is starting to believe it is his fault. He wants to claw at his own head but he can't. Lance still hasn't fully released him. His mind is racing to fast to find a logical counterpoint. He's worried what will really happen to him and how Shiro will take his disappearance.

Lance sees Keith struggling and slams his tail down before finally sighing and just releasing him. "Fine. Do whatever it is you're going to do." He curls up on himself. "Whatever. I don't need anyone anyway." Lance is angry enough that his jaw is tense, but somehow his eyes look sad. When he looks over and Keith hasn't move, he shoves his hand toward the town. "Well, go on! You're fucking free. Congrats. Maybe next time don't come into someone's home and then be afraid if they want to be your friend."

Keith feels incredibly guilty. In front of him is a creature who is just as lonely as he used to be. He mentally apologizes to his three friends as his chest tighten. "I'll..." His voice was so quiet and weak. He clears his throat and tries again. "I'll go with you."

"Why? I'm dangerous and going to kill you or something. You're human friends are looking for you, just go back to them." Lance turns, teeth clenched again and grabs the necklace back. "Seriously. Whatever."

Keith scrambles to grab Lance's wrist. His phone drops into the sand. Pain and sadness in his eyes. "I..." Is he seriously going to tell this merman his backstory? Yeah, yeah he is. "I was alone for so long. I was an orphan who didn't fit in. You just... Need someone to talk to you. You promised not to kill me so... I'll be that person for you."

Lance doesn't look at him for a while, he's tense and can't hide his twitching tail. Finally he turns around and huffs. "That's all I asked for wasn't it? I just wanted you to visit. Fuck. It's not like I was trying to...I don't know?" He shoves the necklace back towards Keith. You can swim fine. I saw that." He crosses his arms back and swallows, trying to loosen his throat up.

Keith takes the necklace and puts it back on. He gets up and walks into the water until it's up to his shoulders then he waits for Lance.

Lance just watches him then slips under the water before almost nervously coming up to him and swallowing, looking a bit more calm. "You're really going to come with me?" His voice is quiet now as his fingers dance along the surface of the water. "What about your friends?"

Keith slowly reaches to touch fingertips with the siren. "They don't need me as much as you do." He should have probably texted them goodbye but it's too late now. He doesn't want it to look like he got cold feet.

Lance jumps when Keith touches his fingers and pulls them back for a second before turning his face away and holding his hand looks at the weird message box. "You can tell them." He turns away. "And I...I'm not going to like, put you in a damn cage or anything so stop looking like this is some sort of forever deal. Fuck. You're going to make me feel bad for inviting you in to my own house." He then dives under the water and turns back to watch what Keith does next.

Keith is a bit torn. Should he tell his friends or not make Lance wait? He takes a step towards the beach but then decides against it. He turns back towards Lance and follows.


	2. Chapter 2

Lance smiles when Keith follows him and is excited to the point of doing barrel rolls in the water before sliding back up next to him. "The necklace is working fine?" He asks and oddly, Keith can understand it just fine. Lance grabs the necklace and wipes a bit of sand off of it with a smile.

"Y-yeah," he stutters. He is shocked about everything this necklace can do and blushes from the closeness.

"I had that made a long time ago." Lance says, swimming upside down so he is facing Keith. He watches him for a minute then huffs. "Human legs are stupid. You're so slow." Swimming a bit ahead of him, Lance waves his tail. "Hold on to it." Keith hesitates, thinking that it might hurt lance. He grabs on and hopes for the best. Lance smiles and laughs then takes off at nearly full speed, checking back occasionally to make sure Keith is still there. He finds some of the prettier underwater flora and spins through it before slowing down and laughing. "I may not have any weird message box things but it's pretty fun down here."

Keith closes his eyes when Lance accelerates. He can't open his eyes until Lance starts to slow down. He gasps when he sees how beautiful it is down here. He wishes he could use his message box down here. He mentally laughs at himself. "This is amazing," he mumbles.

"Yeah, terrarium gardening became a hobby after I didn't have much else to do." Lance bends his tail, so Keith is next to him. "Most humans don't pay enough attention to see how pretty this can be."

Keith blushes a little. "It's a bit hard for most humans to come down here," he points out as he looks to Lance.

"Technicalities." Lance waves his freehand then looks around before leading Keith to an underwater cave. "This is my actual home." He points almost sternly. "It's bland in comparison to your fancy human bullshits but," Almost snarling, Lance growls, "Well I have to work with what I have." His cave is covered in walls of colorful seaweed and freshwater coral. He has polished stones decorating natural ledges and a nest of seaweed is placed near the far corner. Along a wall toward the back of the cave is a rather large collection of odds and ends likely dropped by humans.

Keith looks around. It looks way better than Keith could ever do with human things. "It looks cool." He looks over every single human item. Some look so worn out while others looked somewhat new.

"You think?" Lance perks up a bit then swims over to look at what Keith is looking at. He has no special boundaries. This is likely becoming obvious to Keith. "That one fell in about five years ago." He points to the strange bendy thing (a classic, metal medical cane) then pokes the rubber end. "That feels almost like a whale or something."

Keith smiles slightly. "We call it rubber," he informs Lance. "The entire thing is called a cane."

"A cane!" Lance tilts his head. "What does it do?" He grabs it and hooks the seaweed with it. "It's a useless tool as far as I can tell. I thought maybe it was a weapon, but then why doesn't the...the...this part," he points to the rubber parts, "come off. So I just use it to move things." as example, he hooks Keith and moves him in close, smiling his piranha teeth smile. "Humans are so warm. It's weird."

Keith blushes again. "The cane is originally meant to help the older ones and people with leg injuries to walk on their own and humans are just naturally warm." It feels weird to explain human common knowledge.

"Walking sounds annoying." Lance says as he releases Keith from the cane, but he instead swims around him, in tornado fashion, and super close. "I might be biased though. I've never done it. But humans always seem so...heavy?" He tilts his head and lifts Keith by his wrists. "But you don't feel heavy?"

Keith furrows his eyebrows in confusion. "In water, everything is lighter." He isn't entirely sure if that's what Lance is referring to. He is also on the lighter side for his height.

"O-oh yeah. I totally knew that." he lies through his teeth then tilts his head and starts to look Keith over again. "You are a pretty human." Lance pouts his lips. "I want a pretty human."

Keith blushes and looks away. "I'm not pretty." Almost no one compliments him on his appearance. He gets more teasing out of it, especially his hair.

Lance swims around him again, running his fingers along his shoulder blades and then over his deltoids. "Humans must have very different opinions of beauty than we do - did whatever." Lance leans back. "Even your eyes look like the sky just after sunset. Almost violet."

Keith shivers. It feels different then when Lance did it during their first meeting. "I... I really like your eyes too," he mumbles softly. He doesn't know how to handle this type of attention.

Lance sees Keith shiver and looks concerned. He pulls Keith down into his nest of seaweed and quickly bundles him up. "Does that help?" Lance kinks his head to the side then moves in close, wrapping his tail around Keith. He looks sad. "You are getting cold already, aren't you?" He huffs and looks down. "Stupid human." Lance grumbles. "I'm hungry." He then darts off before returning with a larger bass looking fish. "What do you eat?" Lance asks before starting to eat the fish still struggling to swim away.

The seaweed is oddly warm. He wonders why Lance calls him stupid though, he didn't do anything. When Lance returns with a live fish, it dawns on him that he can't eat much underwater. "I eat cooked fish." Lance probably doesn't understand what cooked means. "Heated up fish."

Lance nods. "Is that when humans put food over the fire?" He asks before starting to eat, careful to turn away from Keith as he does. Over time, it's become apparent to him that most humans find his eating habits less than appealing. "I see humans put fish and these strange squares that smell...very...saccharine? over fire."

"Yeah. We can't eat fish otherwise, it would make us sick." He is a bit surprised that Lance knew that. He wonders how often surfaces then.

Lance glances back at Keith and swallows the bite in his mouth. "Humans are sensitive, aren't they?" He asks, not meaning to be offensive then sighs as he decides to be done with the rest of his fish. Not wanting to disgust Keith, he swims it outside of the cave before coming back. He swims and wraps himself around Keith. "You...really aren't running away, huh?" He smiles a little as he plays with the seaweed wrapped around Keith.

"I came along willingly, I'm not going to run away." He hadn't moved at all since Lance wrapped him in seaweed. He feels even warmer now that Lance is also wrapped around him. He wonders how long he can go without properly eating and what he would eat down here.

Lance just looks at him, lower lips slightly out and searching his face judgmentally. After turning his head to the side, Lance smiles. "Good then!" He perks up then wraps his arms around Keith. "So... you were an orphan too hm?"

Too? Do merpeople usually live with their parents? "Yeah," he answers.

Holding him tight, Lance pouts. "I would never leave someone I cared about." He shakes his head. "That was rude to say. I'm sorry." Lance puts his chin on Keith's shoulder. "Being lonely is the worst feeling. But, I guess you know that too, hm?" With a loud exhale he shakes his head. "Annoying, stupid humans."

Keith feels oddly calm, maybe since they have things in common. He wants to believe that at least his mother didn't have a choice, but he has no proof as he has never known her. "Do merpeople live all together? Or just families?"

Lance grinds his teeth together and makes an awkward whining sound. "Usually yes. We tend to live in... colonies like...like fish I guess. But, when a group has more than one alpha things get ugly." He looks down. "I ended up here long before the tides fell and... now there is no way for me to get back." He looks back as if he can see the wall where this lake lives. "I mean...I'd probably struggle to exist out there again. This water is very different. Took me a while to get used to. Even my fins changes color a bit." Hugging Keith closer, Lance smiles. "But I have a friend now!"

Keith feels really bad for Lance. He leans a bit towards Lance as a form of comfort. "What color were you before? The blue you are now really fits you."

Lance cuddles in close. "I was a deep navy blue and black. Not this...light blue with...white or whatever. Far more royal colors before." He laughs a bit then shrugs. "But if you like it I'm happy. I've been told they are quite soft...if you wish to feel them."

Keith wiggles a bit to get his hand out. He rubs his hand over Lance's tail. It is soft. He can't stop petting it. He tried to imagine it black and navy blue, he really thinks Lance's current colors look better.

Lance wiggles his fins around, making them move like silk against Keith's hand. "You are quite content for someone so angry when we were sitting on the beach." He laughs a bit. "Had I done more wrong? Or was it just your friends being worried for you?"

"It was my friends. You are considered a siren and they are depicted as man eating mermaids who hypnotize sailors." He doesn't understand why he feels so content. It feels nice to talk to someone so similar.

"I am a siren." Lance admits. "But it's not like I do it all on purpose. I like to sing but something about it is hypnotizing. And I always tried to tell sailors to just avoid me. I did. It shouldn't be that hard! I'm stuck in one stupid little freaking lake just go around me." He takes a deep breath and swallows hard. "I'm sorry." He hugs Keith closer. "Humans always make us out to be the monsters but all we do is exists. No different than stupid humans."

That kind of makes sense. Society just seems to be full of racists so isn't it the same between different species? "Humans also make other people out to be monsters too. A lot of people are just judgmental."

Lance scoffs. "It's horrible that even humans can see that humans are flawed." He shakes his head then rests his cheek on Keith's head. "But you seem different. I'm not sure what it is...but I like you." His mouth smiles brilliantly again.

"It could be that I'm not judgmental," Keith laughs.

"Hm... maybe." He pouts. "Though your friends almost made you hate me. which sort of sucks, but...it's fine." Swallowing hard and cuddling closer, Lance sighs. "It's always that way for a siren. So, I should be used to it."

"Are there other differences between sirens and mermaids?" He hates the guilt in his chest. He did technically trespass, so he didn't have the right to be so mean to Lance when they first met.

"Mermaids are pretty." Lance laughs. "They don't only eat meat. They are allowed to sing." He rolls his eyes. "Sirens are mermaids born with defects basically." His laugh is almost hollow. "We have worse tempers, can't digest vegetables and can't sing without causing fucking swarms of people to just... show up." Lance sighs again. "You ever see the beach where all the people are chilling out doing nothing and then suddenly they all hop up to swim like...at once." He raises an eyebrow. "You can blame a siren for that."

Keith is a bit surprised that sirens just cannot eat vegetables. He wonders if they have ever tried fruit. "I think your pretty." He runs his hand along Lance's tail again. "Is there really no way to control the power behind your singing?"

"When I sing? Not really." He laughs. "Our voices are magic. I could literally make you do whatever I wanted right now, just by talking. I just don't." Lance shrugs. "But for some reason, I can't control it when I sing. Shame too, because sirens really do have gorgeous voices.

Keith frowns a bit while he thinks. There has to be a way to control it. No power is unmasterable if you're born with it.

"Don't frown, my little fingerling." He teases before nuzzling into him and kissing his neck once. "I can still speak. I just won't sing lullabies."

Keith leans away and cover his neck where Lance kissed. That was very sudden. "Fingerling?" He questions the nickname.

"You know, a young fish?" Lance shakes his head. "It's an endearing term for us merfolk." He pulls away a bit after seeing Keith's reaction to his kiss.

Keith has yet to move back to his original position. "It sounds kind of cute, though it's funny cause." Keith wiggles his fingers. "Finger lings." He makes it sound like two separate words.

Lance laughs then swims back and puts his hands against Keith's. Obviously he can't interlace them, so he just matches Keith's motions with their hands palm to palm. "I've heard humans call each other pumpkins. _That_ is an odd one."

Lance's hand feels slightly different than human skin, but it feels nice. Keith chuckles at the siren's words. "I don't get it either. Pumpkin is round and orange. It doesn't taste all that great either."

"It would just make me sick." Lance shrugs. "Which those humans usually do anyway." He suddenly starts to slink down a bit and pulls his hands away from Keith's before backing into the cave more. His eyes go a bit darker and he snarls a bit. "I think your friends are here." He grumbles. "In a boat no less." Lance is something between afraid and pissed. His ears are back, and his claws are out but he has pushes himself closer to the ground and against one of the cave walls.

Keith tilts his head in confusion when Lance backs away. Lance becomes a bit scarier, but he doesn't retreat. Where did his friends get a bout? "There's no way they can get down here... Can they?"

"Don't know. But I hate boats." Lance is definitely not lying about that. "Maybe you should just go? I...the locals wouldn't usually bother me but..." He hears something unusual and can't help but be curious. "What are your friends trying to do?" Grabbing Keith, he starts to lead him out the cave. "What if I take you there, show them you're fine?" Grinding his teeth and kicking his tail, Lance is irritated, to say the least, but he will keep his human somehow. Best he prove his kindness first right?

Keith furrows his eyebrows, what is that sound? He isn't a boat expert but that doesn't sound like a normal boat sound. It doesn't help that he is underwater. "I don't know what they will do," Keith says as he clings onto Lance. He is a bit worried that they might try to capture Lance and then show him off for the world to see. "It might not be a good idea for you to surface close to them." Keith has his eyes closed so he can't tell how far from the surface or from the boat they are.

"But..." Lance swims back and forth, making circles around Keith. "But, I want you to be my human. If they don't let you then...then I'd rather be alone again I guess." He flicks his hears back against his head then listens again. "I'm taking you back." He says at last, pulling Keith from the seaweed. "What's the worst that can happen, right?"

"I... I guess," Keith says softly. The worst thing is something his friends wouldn't do. Pidge would probably want to examine Lance, torture him with needing samples of several sorts. Shiro might want to punch Lance. He isn't too sure what Matt would do, he has yet to see Matt really mad.

"Don't sound so reassuring." Lance swallows hard then grabs Keith's hand. "You're too slow. I'll get you up there." His ears are still flat on his head, he really hates boats. So, getting Keith out of here is for the best. Maybe he can try to come too...no that won't work. maybe he can win them over somehow. Shaking his head, Lance grabs him tight and starts to swim up, not going anywhere actually near the boat. "Once we surface, please give me the necklace back." He says quietly before adding, somehow even more quietly. "In case, you know, you don't come back."

Keith nods, feeling sad at the thought of having to leave Lance all alone with an even worse reputation.


	3. Chapter 3

In the boat, Matt is legit sitting over the edge going, "it looks like water. I don't see him" every few minutes because he's not sure what else to do. In response, Shiro looks ready to strangle him and Pidge is being all serious "Ok, we found his phone and they said it was here, according to the fishing radar, this is definitely the right place. Hey..." They start the slap Matt. "Hey! There's two big marks now. What do we do now?" They look back to Shiro who had brought the net the sailor had offered in case, in his words, "you three idiots are able to actually catch that demon." Shiro nods, and waits to see what is happening. "They aren't surfacing near the boat! We need to move, what if Keith is hurt. Get the boat moving Matt!"

"I still don't actually know what I'm doing you know!" He shouts as he tries to get the boat kick started again. "I swear this engine is worse than mom's old lawn mower's."

Lance stops once the two of them are near the surface. He turns back to Keith and hugs him sadly. "Hopefully not goodbye?" He smiles then looks back toward the boat and laughs nervously. "They've got it moving again. I have to go." Lance starts to leave, not liking being near the boat then stops and watches Keith surface beside the boat. It's then he panics, remembering the necklace. After swimming in circles, he quickly swims up and pops his head out of the water. "Keith! My necklace!" He says frantically.

"Hopefully not goodbye," Keith repeats. He sadly watches Lance leave before kicking himself upward. As he surfaces, he sees his three friends leaning over the edge of the boat. He waves at them. When Lance surfaces near him, he panics.

"Shiro!" Matt yells. Keith looks down at his chest and quickly takes off the necklace before throwing it to Lance. Keith then looks up and sees a net falling.

"Lance!" Keith calls but it's too late. The net fall on Lance and starts to close around him. The net starts to pull Lance out of the water upside down.

"Keith! Hurry up and climb up!" Pidge yells. Keith looms to them and spots the ladder. He swims over and quickly climbs up.

Lance sees the net and his eyes nearly go black. Those things suck. He's watch them pull entire colonies of fish up at once. But he wants his necklace, so he reaches out and before he can get away, Lance is in the net and panicking.

When he surfaces completely Lance makes a feral sounding hiss as he attempts to claw his way out of the net, but it's that thick stuff he's found down here before, so he just looks to the friends, gripping the necklace before starting to shout. Typically, he would just sing and make them let him go but his human is there, and his human seems to like him, so he doesn't want to make a foul impression.

"Let me go you stupid freaking humans! I wasn't doing anything wrong. This is my lake and I want to go back. And take your dumb boat." Realizing they seem to be about to put him on the thing, Lance actually panics and tries getting away again. "Don't put me on that thing!" He hisses again.

"Lance!" Keith calls once he is on the boat. "Shiro! Let him go!"

"Why?! He dragged you underwater!" Pidge yelled.

"Don't put me on your stupid boat!" I Lance is somewhere between horrified and pissed. He is physically struggling to keep from lashing out. When Pidge yells at Keith, Lance growls. "Don't yell at my human!" He then looks between his human and the others and makes an odd growling sound. "This is why I hate humans, "he hisses.

"I went with him willingly!" That makes everyone freeze for a moment. "He just needs someone to talk to. He isn't bad," Keith tried to explain. Shiro shook his head and glares at Lance.

"Matt, get a barrel." Matt quickly grabbed a barrel and opened it. Shiro slowly set the angry siren on the boat. Keith hurried over to Lance's side. "Keith, get away from him." Keith ignored Shiro and opened the net.

When Lance hears the taller one call for a barrel, his ears go somehow flatter and he struggles to untangle himself. "Why would I drag him under just to let him back later? And even if I did, Keith is fine!"

"Were putting a fish in a barrel." Matt says with a little laugh. He is oddly amused by the situation now that Keith is free. However, his words cause Lance to roar.

"I'm not just some fish you ignorant fucking human." He feels his throat tightening. Then he sees the barrel and shrinks back. "I'm not going in that! Just put me back. I just wanted my human and my necklace in- in case he didn't come back. I gave him back." Lance sounds like he's pleading but his words hiss from his mouth in a dangerous tone. However, when Keith starts to help, Lance reaches out to touch him and lets a fearful whimper out that only Keith can hear. He feels the net shifting and looks a bit relieved until Shiro steps closer.

Shiro grabs Keith's shoulders and pulls him away, still not trusting the siren.

"Keith, look at me, he's a siren. He's got you under his song so of course he seems friendly."

Lance hisses and tries to angrily reach out when Keith is pulls away. "Don't hurt my human! Let him be!" Looking back to the human holding the barrel, then to the one moat angry with him and then to Keith, Lance tries to just start shoving himself away.

"I'm not under a song right now! He's scared of boats so let me-" Shiro cuts him off.

"No." Shiro kept Keith behind him. Once he thinks Keith will stay where he is, Shiro start talking towards Lance. "We won't hurt you, but you have to release Keith from your song."

"He's not under a stupid song." Lance snaps at him. "Don't cut Keith off. Its rude." Lance growls then tries to scramble toward the edge of the boat again. "If I wanted to I could stop you all, I just don't-" he sees Matt lug the barrel over near him and stops. " **Don't come near me with that** " he hisses.

In response, Matt just kinda freezes and stops moving toward him. Lance droops his ears and looks at Keith with guilt filled eyes. "I didn't mean to." He looks more nervous as his fins are tangled in the netting. "Just let me go. I won't-" he grits his teeth angrily. "I won't do anything to you all. Just let me off your stupid boat."

"I don't trust you enough to release you. The faster you get in the barrel, the faster we can get off this boat." The boats started to turn and move towards the docks. It was probably Pidge doing it.

"Shiro, let me talk-" Shiro turns to look at Keith and cuts him off again.

"No! Keith! You of all people take forever to befriend and this siren does it in less than a day?! I will not release him until I'm sure he isn't controlling you!" He turns back to Lance, not giving Keith enough time to argue. He moves to stand just out of arm's reach.

Lance swallows hard and looks over at the barrel then starts to violently tear at the net on him. "I'm not going to get-" lance starts then hears Keith start to talk so he stops. He snarls.

"Stop cutting off my human." He growls then swallows and looks to his hands, still grinding his teeth. "If I don't listen, I won't get to see Keith?" He questions, trying to stay calm.

"Never," Shiro answers, glaring down at the siren. Lance struggles between being angry and terrified. He looks at the humans, breathing quickening probably from lack of water and nerves, and he finally just clenches his jaw and holds himself.

"Fine. Just...take the net off." He glares. "And let Keith help me or I leave." Shiro sighs and looks back at Keith. Keith perks up and quickly runs over to Lance's side to get the net off. Being the strongest, Shiro picks up Lance and gently places the siren in the barrel. Keith stands next to the barrel, hoping his presence comforts Lance.

Lance is relieved when the netting is gone and twitches a few times as his desire to be off this boat is overwhelming. But, so is his desire to have a human. He sees Shiro walking up and a guttural growl comes out when. He picks him up.

Once Keith is beside him, Lance takes a deep breath before slinking down into the water for a minute then coming back up with a growl. "I can hardly even fit under the water. Nice friends." He glares at them then wraps himself up with his tail to be more comfortable. "Is it far?" His voice is more of a frightened whine now. "I really don't like boats, Keith. And I'm sorry about your friend I didn't mean to charm him."

"It's not far. We'll be at the docks in a few minutes," Shiro says.

Keith rubs Lance's back. "It's okay. You were just scared."

"I wasn't talking to you." Lance hisses then looks back to Keith and his ears droop. "I've only ever been on a boat once before. I... Well, I hated it." He shakes his head then swallows hard. "I want to go home."

Keith feels really bad for Lance. "Once everything is cleared up, I'm sure we will take you back home." The boat slows down to a stop. Pidge and Matt docks the boat while Shiro keeps an eye on Lance and Keith.

Lance curls down into the barrel, watching the other humans with near black eyes still. "If they let me." He growls then grabs his necklace and tries to hand it back to Keith. "I want you to keep it." He holds his arm out and meets Shiro's gaze angrily. "What?" He spits.

"What is that?" Shiro asks, referring to the necklace. He's worried it might be charmed to keep Keith under a song even without Lance singing.

"It's a gift." Lance hisses through his teeth. He glares at Shiro before looking back to Keith. "It's how he was breathing at home - At my home."

Matt hears that and starts to move in to look at it. Too curious for his own good. "Don't touch it. It's not for you." He is careful not to charm him again.

"It's fine fish boy, I just wanted to look at it. " He holds his hands back then stretches. "So... what are we doing with him? It's not like carrying a barrel full of an angry siren is going to be an easy feat. Or an unnoticed one." Matt asks once he's backed away from the defensive siren.

Once Matt moves away, Keith takes the necklace from Lance. "Are you sure?"

Shiro watches them for a bit longer before turning to Matt. "We should go talk to the fisherman. Let him know we got the siren and see if he has a trolley."

"Don't tell the locals you stupid human!" Lance says frantically then shakes his head, trying for a nicer approach. "I mean...please. Don't tell them...human." He grabs the edge of the barrel and reaches out toward Keith. "Just let me go." His fear is starting to overwhelm his rage at the thought of this town knowing he was easily reachable. "I've done nothing to deserve this. Just let me go." He looks at Keith with pleading eyes. "Let me go."

Keith hugs Lance and looks towards Shiro with pleading eyes of his own. Shiro sighs. "We can't let you go. If you stay quiet on the way to the house, the town doesn't have to know."

"I will stay quiet." He grumbles through gritted teeth before his ears go down and he curls up on himself slinking down under the water and refusing to make eye contact anymore.

Matt clears his throat and sighs. "We have to carry him now huh?" He looks the group over and claps once. "But man! An actual, living siren! Can you believe it?!" He elbows Pidge. "Better than the photos for sure. Man." He can't hide his excited curiosity.

Keith looks worryingly into the water. "Pidge, go tell the fisherman we got Keith back." Matt and Shiro walked up to the barrel and started to carry it off the boat with Keith following close behind. As quickly as they could, they made it back to the Holt's house.


	4. Chapter 4

As promised, Lance doesn't make a sound. He doesn't really move at all. All of this is foreign and as much as he doesn't want to admit it, he's honestly scared.

Pidge comes back in the house once the others have arrived to see a barrel in the dining room. "this is our plan?" They groan. "Should we move him?" They peak into the top of the barrel. "How is he so squished down there. He must have a more aquatic skeleton than ours to be able to-" they stop themselves before getting off track. "What do you think Shiro?"

"If you guys don't mind, we could move him to the bathtub," Shiro suggests. He may not trust Lance but he isn't cruel enough to keep Lance camped in a barrel.

"We have the spare bedroom's bathtub that no one uses, why not?" Pidge looks back at Keith. "I'm with Shiro though. I don't think it's a good idea to put him back yet." They look back as Matt's sighs and complains about his back before helping Shiro pick up the barrel again. "This morning you were, well, at least nervous. And now you're rallying behind him. It's hard to believe he hasn't done something to you."

"He's been misunderstood. He feels so alone." Keith fights the doubt everyone is trying to set in him.

Shiro and Matt brings the barrel to the spare bathroom. Matt starts to fill the tub with slightly cold water.

Pidge puts a hand on his shoulder. "I'm just..." They sigh, knowing why that would be a touchy subject for Keith. "He used mind control on you Keith. He can't be perfect. But," groaning as they admit this, "there are two sides to each story, right? Go ahead and see him while I try to figure things out."

Lance feels the barrel moving again and doesn't move, still trying to keep to his word. But when the barrel starts to tip, he gets nervous again before lashing out a bit. He scratches as the side of the barrel and growls as the water is poured out around him.

"Oh, come on fishboy." Matt groans. "You aren't all that light you know."

Finally releasing the barrel, Lance closes his eyes, trying not to look at whatever he was going into. Realizing he was in some strange white...mini...pond? Lance glares up at them but doesn't say anything as he's not sure this is their house. He's never been in a human house...or seen a human house...so he just tries to follow his promise.

Keith nods and walk to where Shiro and Matt disappeared to. Lance is now in the bathtub while Shiro puts the barrel in the corner.

Still mildly afraid to speak, Lance watches Keith walk in and just sinks into the bathtub nervously before looking for the ok to talk.

Keith notices and walks to the edge of the bathtub. "This is Matt's and Pidge's house. This," Keith points to the tub's edge," Is a bathtub."

"It's like a frustratingly tiny pond." Lance says, quietly grumbling. He runs his hand along the side of the tub. "And way too smooth. Even polished stones aren't usually like this." He looks back down and tries to stop looking so nervous. "Why am I here? Couldn't I have just gone home?" Lance won't uncurl as he looks up at Keith.

"I can't trust you enough. We don't know how siren songs work so it's safer for us with you in the house. Especially if you call for Keith again," Shiro answers. He has his stern face. He is tired from worrying so much.

Lance tries to glare but it doesn't work this time. He's too scared now. He's trapped in a tiny pond, in a house full of humans, in a town that wants to kill him. And all he wanted was a human.

"Right. So, I just have to trust you all now." Lance finally spits out before pulling on arm out of the water and looking at it in disdain. "Seems fair to me." He growls sarcastically before reaching out to touch Keith's arm and trying to smile. "At least you're still here." He says maybe a little too sing dingy for those not use to siren voices, though not enough to charm anyone. (I.e., could be mistaken as such though) "will you stay with me?" Lance asks before dropping his ears and looking up to him with blue eyes once more.

Keith smiles and starts to answer but Shiro quickly pulls Keith away. "Don't charm him!"

"Shiro!" Keith quickly grips Shiro's shoulder to make the older man look at him. "He didn't charm me. I'm not in a daze." Shiro looked directly into Keith's eyes, looking to see if that's true. Keith is definitely not in a daze so Shiro sighs and relaxes.

"Sorry," Shiro mumbles without looking back at Lance. Keith moves back to the edge of the tub.

Lance curls back into the corner of the tub and just glares at Shiro. "Stupid question but," lance grinds his teeth and looks around. "What good would it honestly do for me to charm him right now?!" He chomps his teeth shut and swallows hard before continuing. "You are all afraid of me, well guess what? I'm fucking terrified of you all too and if anyone is at a fucking disadvantage here it's me so maybe stop jumping down my throat?!" He swallows again then just turns his back away from them, not sure he had thought about how stupid it was to follow his human into town like this. "I just like Keith. I want him to be my human. And I would harm my human." He grumbles, back still facing them.

"Why do you keep calling him your human?" Shiro ask, squinting his eyes a little.

Lance turns and faces Keith. "Be… cause I like him?" He smiles then glares at Shiro. "He is a treasure to me and I would like to keep him." He puts his hand up and waves his fingers around like Keith had done in the water. "I've missed having a human."

Keith smiles and places his hand against Lance's and does the same.

"You've had a human... partner before?" Shiro asked, trying to understand how the siren sees this relationship. "What happened to them?"

Lance finally smiles again when Keith touches his hand and his ears perk up a bit. "I have had a few. Before the lake. The last one chose to return to land." He looks frustrated by it to say the least. "One ventured off alone and was killed. Stupid." He growls a bit then gets really quiet. "The first one..." He trails off and pulls his hand back from Keith. "I was young and stupid and..." He won't meet either human's gaze. "And I accidentally killed him."

Shiro does his best to keep his composure. Lance did say that he was young then and was his first one. Matt who has been standing in the corner of the room scoots closer to Shiro to rub his back. "Were they all... Romantic relationships?" Shiro asks once he relaxes a bit.

Lance thinks about it and shrugs. "I don't know." He says plainly. "I like to gather gifts for them. I had the necklace made to we could live together. Most nights we slept in my nest. We...did many things together. What exactly does romantic even mean to humans?" Then tenses up a bit before looking back at Shiro. "Have all of your humans been romantic? Maybe merfolk just get lonely too." He then looks at Keith with ears back again. "I took good care of them. I did. I would take good care of you as well." He says almost pleadingly. "You would be my human. And I would make you happy." He slinks down a bit, giving a site's version of puppy eyes.

To Shiro, it seems like Lance has been in romantic relationships without realizing it. He looks at Matt for a second before looking back at Lance. "That is typically a romantic relationship," Shiro says. Keith's heart pounds and his cheek become a slight pink. Shiro clears his throat to interrupt their little moment. He would rather not witness Keith falling for a siren.

"So, is it wrong to want a human then?" Lance asks quietly as he touches Keith's hair and laughs before tiling his head. "Fluffy." When he spies the pink color, Lance smiles. "You're warm again, that's good." Then he looks back to Shiro before kinking his head to the side. "It's probably because I'm a monster isn't it?" He tries not to growl. He really tries.

Keith blushes a little more. He doesn't pull away from Lance despite getting a little wet because of the siren. Shiro feels a little guilty but he also doesn't want to give Keith away.

"It's not wrong to want a romantic relationship with a human..."Shiro trails off. He isn't sure what to tell Lance. He doesn't have much romantic experience himself and he never thought he would ever have to think about a relationship between different species.

"It's just that you want him to be on land." Lance grits his teeth. "Never heard that before. "Or is it, but humans should be with humans? Or maybe, but it's unhealthy for a human to live underwater? Or maybe...it's just that I'm a damn siren." He shakes his head. "Its fine. I just want to go home." He looks back to Keith sadly. "I won't complain if you visit though." He trails his hand up Keith's arm. "It was nice...before all of this." He growls.

Shiro sighs. "We can't let you go yet and it is probably very unhealthy for a human to live underwater." At this point, he just doesn't want to be in the same room as the siren. The siren can't see from their perspective and it's frustrating him.

Lance looks over to him and glares then just turns back to Keith, deciding it best to ignore the other humans. He crosses his arms on the side of the tub and rests his head down. "You should probably eat soon, Keith." He reaches out and touches Keith's lips. "I don't want you to get sick and it's not like I'm going anywhere." He groans. "This water is weird. It's too...clean and it smells funny.

Keith gazes at Lance. He doesn't want to leave the siren's side but his stomach is empty. "Mkay. I'll be back soon." He smiles lightly at Lance before leaving.

"You will not eat in the bathroom!" Shiro yells from still inside, knowing Keith would do so. Keith grumbles loud enough for Shiro to hear.

Lance smiles then glares back to Shiro. "So... how long do I have to stay here?" He asks plainly. "Cuz if its until you feel safe...I might go crazy." His eyes are a darker blue and he looks obviously bothered.

Shiro glares back but feels a bit intimidated by Lance's eyes. "Just until I know for one hundred percent Keith is not under a long-lasting song. My first priority is Keith."

Lance glares at him. "Mine too." He curls up and looks up at the ceiling. "At least you get to move while you decide." He grumbles before crossing his arms.

Matt sighs. "Maybe we should let fishboy have some privacy?"

Shiro looks at Matt and nods. He starts to walk out of the room, really needing to be away from the siren.

"Stop calling me fishboy! My name is lance!" He shouts as Matt darts out the door. Still a bit amazed that there is a siren in his bathtub, Matt stops Shiro. "Ok, breathe dude. Talk to me. Or just punch my arm or something? But, like not too hard cuz he was heavy."

Shiro sighs again and leans against Matt. "What should we do with Lance? Keith has never gotten that close with anyone that quickly."

Matt rubs his back and laughs. "I think we let Pidgeon keep doing their research. We know Keith is here. And it's not like fishboy can get up and leave." He cuddles then can't help but wiggle a little. "Plus..." He says in an almost squeaky voice. "Did you see embarrassed Keith's little blushy smile?! So cute!"

"Of course, you would focus on that," Shiro teases. "It seemed like Lance was looking for a romantic relationship, do you think..." He doesn't want to imagine Keith having intercourse with a merperson but how would that work? Can they even do it together?

"Of course, I would focus on that!" Matt laughs. "Do you know how many times I've seen Keith blush?!" He watches as Shiro just stares at him. "Well I don't know either but it's not that much. But fishboy seems pretty hooked already." He stops to laugh then waves his hand. "But there's so much we have to figure out!" He stops. "Even if not a romantic thing with them...Keith still found a siren and I still want to study him." Matt says quietly as his mind is clearly turning cogs. "And that necklace. I really wanna study that."

Shiro scoffs. "You and your science." He playfully hits Matt's chest. "Do you think it will be safe to let Keith be with Lance alone?" He doesn't fully trust Lance, even if he really can't do anything but he knows Keith is so sneaky. If Lance knows, it could be used for his advantage and escape.

"I'd you think Pidge hadn't already turned on the hall cameras and set a house alarm you must not know whom you're dealing with." Matt sighs. "But I mean...I don't know. I never thought sirens could be real so it's not like I have good theories." Matt peaks back into the bathroom and watches Lance make a disgusted look at the water again before spreading his fins out. "He is pretty cool looking though. You know, for a fish."

"Reminds me of a betta fish. Keith always thought betta fish were cool," Shiro says.

Keith finishes his food as quickly as possible and rushes back to Lance.

"A really big, angry betta fish." Matt laughs. "I wonder if he hates mirrors too." When he sees Keith coming, Matt pushes Shiro away, trying to give Keith time with His new "fishboyfriend." A nickname neither Shiro nor Lance will likely appreciate.

Lance hear A the door open and has taken to running his hands along his scales to clean them when he realizes its Keith this time. He smiles and quickly props up on the side of the tub before anxiously waiting to see if anyone else was going to come in too."

Keith leaves the door half open, knowing that Shiro would not be happy with him closing the door. "Are you okay enough?" He knows it's a bit cramped for Lance but this is all they can do.

"Do you want the honest answer or the shortened lie?"

Keith looks sadly at Lance. "Can I do anything to make you feel more comfortable?"

"You're here. It helps." Lance hugs himself. "I'm not on that death trap so that helps too. And we finally font have people staring at me like I'm going to...I don't know...murder you or something?" Lance sighs and curls up. "Memorable though. In the top five of worst days of my life so far probably." He laughs a bit then puts his head onto the edge of the bathtub. "Are you at least ok?"

Keith combs a hand through Lance's hair, hoping it would help. "Yeah, I'm okay. If you want, I can try to get some lake water in the morning."

Lance stretches out and smiles at the feeling of Keith's fingers in his hair. His tail moves a bit, so there's no hiding it makes him happy. "I'll get used to it." He says. "I just..." He huffs. "Why'd they have to put me in a net on the boat?! That was horrible!"

Keith smiles slightly, finding it cute that Lance's tail is swaying. "I mean... They wanted to capture you and that's the only way," he mumbles.

"But I hate boats." He growls, ears going back from an obvious memory but tail kept swaying from the attention. "Do you think they will keep me long? I don't want the town to find out I'm here."

"I hope they don't keep you for too long but it would be pretty hard for someone to find out that we have you here unless you sing... hmn..." Keith trails off as he starts to think. Matt turning on music had helped a little so maybe there is a way for Lance to sing and not charm anyone. He would need to experiment with that later.

"I hope not." He nuzzles into Keith's hand again and smiles. "Would you like being my human? I mean, it obviously wouldn't be very special right now, but...maybe later once I'm free." He reaches up and touches Keith's face then touches the necklace. "If they don't let me go back, keep that ok?"

"Aren't I already your human?" Keith asks. He said it with a slight hint of teasing but he is also confused. Keith nods to the second question. Lance's cold hands had felt oddly nice against his cheek.

"I mean, you never really agreed to it." Lance says with a shrug. "You just agreed to come with me. That doesn't make you my human. And as much as sirens are known for taking away willpower, you can still choose not to be." He can't help but grin as he says all of this though. He just stares at Keith for a while. "Now do I prove I'm not controlling you?" He asks honestly.

"I already know you're not controlling me. My friends are the one who wants proof." He starts to lean against his arm that's combing through Lance's hair. "I want to be your human," he says softly.

"You do!" Lance's tail shakes a bit and he grabs Keith in a hug. "I have a human again." He hums a bit before shaking his head and apologizing. "Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to so that. Just got excited." He stretches then groans. "I miss my nest." He laughs. "And my sounds. It's too...hollow sounding in here." He looks toward the lights. "And those flashlights are annoyingly bright." He groans again. "I'm complaining too much. Sorry. At least I have my human." His tail twitches excitedly at the "my human."

Keith's shirt is now really wet but he's okay with that. Despite knowing that Lance doesn't really see it as a romantic thing to say, every time Lance says 'my human', Keith gets a little bit redder and his heart beats faster. "I can turn off the light," Keith offers. There is a blurry window to let natural light in so it won't be completely dark in here.

Lance tilts his head and his ears twitch when he pulls back from Keith. He looks him over carefully. "You heart sounds different. Are you ok?" Lance looks at the lights then Keith and smiles. "No. Humans like light. Those are just...bright. But them being brighter lets me see your eyes more. Human eyes are always so pretty."

Keith blushes a little bit more, not expecting Lance to be able to know his heart rate. "Yeah, I'm okay. Humans like hugs so sometimes it makes our hearts beat faster." It's not a complete lie. "Your eyes are so much cooler than humans."

"I do kind of remember that." lance says as he thinks back. His ears twitch a few more times and he smiles. "I'm glad you like them." He smiles bigger then touches his chin. "Are my eyes not mainly dark? Human eyes are so brilliant." He sits back into the water some, putting his hand up again and wiggling his fingers. It's obvious he enjoys this finger thing Keith did earlier. "So, is there anything you want to know about me?" He moves in close, looking at Keith's eyes again. "I might not tell your friends. But my human is allowed to know everything about me."

Keith chuckles. He places a hand against Lance's and wiggles his fingers. It's a very silly replacement for holding hands. "Does colonies have beta and omegas as well?" He remembers Lance talking about alphas. He could get some info for Pidge.

"Yeah. We have almost like a counsel of leads per colony." He thinks back. "The females usually held most of the spots and basically all spots were reserved for non-sirens as they are less threatening and temperamental." Lance flips over, laying with his chest up now, trying to get more comfortable.

Keith can't help but let out a mix of a laugh and a huff. Gender wise, the one with power is the opposite. "Do you know if your parents were sirens?" He was worried that parents might be a touchy subject but Lance did say he was allowed to know anything.

"All sirens are related so likely yes." He says casually. "At least one of them were. I think it was my mother." He points up and laughs. "Female sirens are crazy. Even I think so." He looks up to Keith and smiles. "They've been gone a long time. Don't worry." He had seen the perturbed look on Keith's face.

"Is there anything you would like to tell me?" Keith asks, not knowing what else to ask about. He doesn't normally do this type of questioning to get to know someone. "Or maybe something you would like to know about me?"

Lance wraps his hands around the back of Keith's neck. "I feel like there's a million things I could tell you. But I also feel like most of it is boring." He laughs a bit. "But things I want to know about you?" He thinks for a second. "Why did you come to my 'dead zone'?" He rolls his eyes at the name.

His body tingles at the closeness. "I was dared to since we thought the dangers of it was just a myth."

"Oh." Lance says with almost a pout. "Do they even say why it's dangerous or just that it's dangerous.?"

"Because there is a natural amount of dead fish in that area. Some of the town thinks that it's because there are piranhas in the water since they don't believe in sirens."

"Oh." Lance says plainly again before sighing and flicking Keith on the forehead. "And you thought it would be a wise idea to swim in piranha water?" He shakes his head. "You will be safer when I'm around. Or I will just protect you." He smiles up at him before touching Keith's shirt and flipping back around. "Don't those bother you?" He asks, clearly referring to Keith's clothes. "They seem so constricting and wildly uncomfortable."

Keith looks down at his shirt then looks at Lance again. "These aren't constricting." The shirt is wet so it's a bit uncomfortable. "I wouldn't pick anything that I find uncomfortable, though it feels weird when it's wet and clingy."

"Oh. So, they're uncomfortable now because of me." Lance slips away a bit. "I

Didn't mean to do that." He looks down then sighs. "How do I get food?"

Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut. He should start coming in here in swim attire so it doesn't feel so weird when he gets wet. "We can buy you raw fish. They won't be freshly dead though."

"Ugh. You eat not fresh meat. That sounds awful." He shivers. "Don't go out of your way. Just bring me...something." He spins back around and grabs Keith's neck again. "Bring me something you like." He smiles.

Keith blushes. "Okay. Are you hungry right now?" He knows they were just talking about food but he wants to make sure Lance is okay.

"A little." Lance admits bashfully. "I just usually snack all day and," he motions around the room, "I kinda...can't right now." Trying to sound happier, lance adds, "but I've not had human food in...a long time. And I would love to try my human's favorite."

Keith smiles. "I'll go get some snacks then." Keith stands and quickly runs to gather some snacks. Chip and candy. He also drops off his wet shirt in bathroom connected to the guest room Shiro slept in. "What have you had before?" Keith asks when he returns.

"Uhh...some...pig thing?" Lance says happily when Keith returns. "They made it over a fire on the beach." When he sees Keith is shirtless he peeks up and laughs. "Now I can hug you and you won't be uncomfortable!" He says giddily. "So, what did you bring?"

"They are called chips." Keith holds up the bag of chips. "And candy." He sets them all down. "We can eat pig later since we now know you've had it before," he says as he opens the chips first. He grabs one and holds it out for Lance.

Lance looks at it curiously then eats it out of Keith's hand. He clearly doesn't know what to think of the texture but seems to enjoy it. "Hm. It makes me think of the ocean. Very salty." He smiles and kicks his tail playfully. "Can I have another?"

Keith blushes despite having somewhat expected that Lance would eat from his hand. "Yeah." Keith gets another chip and holds it out for Lance again.

Lance smiles and leans in to take the chip and licks Keith's fingers before pulling back with a smile and laughing a bit. "It's very dry, but they are very good." He peaks over to other food. "What's that one? It's more colorful."

Keith blushes even more. He grabs a piece of candy and unwraps it. "These ones are really sweet," he says as he holds it out for Lance. He knows that for these ones, he can't avoid having his fingers in Lance's mouth due to how small they are.

Lance smiles and carefully takes the small candy from Keith, careful not to bite his fingers. He flicks his tongue along Keith's fingers to clean them. His tongue isn't as thick as a normal humans and a bit smoother. As he eats it, lance shivers, clearly not use to the sweetness. He swallows then his eyes light up. "It kind of hurt my teeth and made my spine feel funny." He starts while pointing to them. "I liked it!"

Keith chuckles at Lance's description of his reaction to the candy. He wonders if merpeople can get cavities. He opens another and holds it out. His fingers feel a bit tingly, he keeps thinking about Lance's tongue whipping across them.

Lance smiles and kicks his tail about a bit before taking the candy. Seeing little remnants of it on his fingers, Lance tilts his head and his ears twitch as the shiver from the sweets go down his spine. "This is really good! Way better than bass." He laughs gleefully then licks Keith's fingers clean.

Keith blushes but doesn't move his hand. Just then, Shiro comes up to the door to check on them. He lets a 'very manly' scream as he rushes into the bathroom. "What are you doing?!" Not seeing the food on the floor, there was two possibilities. One, Keith is being eaten or two, he walked in on foreplay.

Lance grabs Keith's arm and holds it. "My human wad feeding me. I can't exactly catch things here. Don't take him he's happy." Lance then turns to Keith and points to the chips. "Can I have more of that one?"

Keith turns to Shiro in shock. His scream surprised him. He Lance talks, he turns back to the siren. He smiles and uses his other hand to feed Lance.

"Sirens can eat human food?" Shiro's voice was a bit high pitch compared to normal. At least reality wasn't any of the possibilities he thought about.

"Well I've had pig." Lance says before eating the chip from Keith's hand. "But I've never had these." He licks his lips trying to get the last of the salt. "Candy make my spine feel strange!" He laughs a little then looks back to Keith with ears drooped and a pouty face. "How much are you supposed to eat of these?"

Shiro sighs and tries to take it in. He had walked in on Lance licking sugar off Keith's fingers. "There isn't an amount yours supposed to eat. People are recommended not to eat too much though."

Lance seems to think about that carefully and nods. "Are there other foods I should try that you like?" He has yet to let go of Keith's arm. Watching Keith grab another chip, Lance reaches out and snatches it before he can even sit all the way up. Chip caught between his teeth, Lance smiles and does a "heee" type of laugh before eating the chip.

Shiro shakes his head and leaves, seeing as the two are okay. "There is other food but we don't have them at the moment. The amount I brought should be safe for you." Keith feeds Lance another chip.

"Well these are good." He lets go of Keith once they are alone then slips under the water, feeling a bit dry. When he comes back up, lance snatches the chip then offers it to Keith, holding it in his teeth for him.

Keith blushes and hesitates. He remembers other people doing something similar with pocky. Slowly he leans forward. Careful not to touch lips, Keith takes the chip with his own mouth.

Lance chuckles through his teeth then dips his head back under the water. When he comes back out, lance is making grumpy sounds. "This is so annoying!" He plops back into the water making a small splash then flops his tail over the edge of the tub and just sits with his arms crossed

"Which part?" Keith asks as he pets Lance's tail. It's probably how cramped it feels for him but he wants to make sure. Maybe he should get a kid blow up pool.

"I can't even stretch out all the way. Let alone try to swim. And this water feels strange." He grumbles more than shrugs. "Sorry." He almost barks the apology as he stretches his shoulders.

Keith frowns. Is there anything he can do to make it better? He continues to pet Lance's tail. "You sure you don't want me to get lake water?"

"Mmm." Lance waves his fins a bit. "Yeah. I'm fine. I don't need my Keith to do things like that." He perks up. "So, what do you do when you are bored?" He puts his hands up playfully.

Keith blushes. It feels different when Lance calls him 'his Keith' vs 'his human '. "I train or watch videos."

"Train?" He tilts his head. "What for?" Lance looks toward the candy and pushes himself out far enough to grab the bag and snatches it up before trying to eat some. He has a hard time with the wrapper but finally gets it. "And what are videos?"

"Train to stay in shape and videos is a series of photos shown at a fast speed. Would you like to see?"

"Which?" Lance looks around the room then scratches his head. "You meant the second I'm pretty sure." He smiles as he eats a few more candies. "Pick your favorite!"

His training is usually boring. "You wouldn't mind seeing me train?" He feels embarrassed to purposely show off.

Lance props his head on the edge of the bathtub and smiles. "Watching my pretty human use muscles sounds enjoyable." He says quietly while twisting his tail about and snatching another of the candies up. He still takes longer to open them than Keith but he was getting the hang of it.

Keith's hands feel tingly. He moves a bit away from the tub and gets into push up positions. He looks at Lance for a second before doing a few.

Lance reaches out after he's done a few and runs his fingers along the muscles. He hums a little, obviously being pleased by what he sees. "And training, you like it?" Lance eats another of the candies before realizing they are gone and pouty a bit. Even his ears droop a bit but he shrugs then turns back to watch Keith.

"Y-yeah," Keith stutters, not used to this attention. "There are other things I do to train. These are called pushups." He does two more than moves to sit ups. "This is called sit ups."

Lance watches him with a smile, tail twitching as his eyes scan over him. Despite still not doing much himself, he is clearly more content. "I'm not sure these would work the same for me." He laughs then watches Keith while touching his own and as if trying to feel of his muscles would form the same.

"I'm sure curl ups would be the same for you. You don't technically need legs to do it." He sits back up and looks over Lance's stomach.

Lance curls himself up, thinking that's what Keith meant. Then stretches, still stuff from doing that in the barrel. He notices Keith looking at him and smiles before reaching out to touch Keith. "I like how warm you are." He smiles. Then nuzzles his cheek against Keith's and laughs a bit. "I'm so glad you found me! Even if it was because of a dare."

Keith blushes again. He needs to find a way to stop blushing around Lance. "I'm glad too. Sorry that I tried to hit you."

Lance laughs. "You were to slow anyway." He teases then sticks out his tongue and stretches again before sitting his head on the edge of the bathtub. "Keith can you let me again. It was nice." His voice is quieter than it had been as the hectic day has him wanting a nap.

Keith wasn't entirely sure if Lance was rubbing their cheeks together or something else he did earlier today but so long as it helps Lance, he doesn't mind. There wasn't anything he was fully uncomfortably with. "Go ahead."

He grins then grabs Keith's arm and cuddles it, smiling into the comfort of his warmth. As he gets comfortable, Lance starts to nuzzle his arm. "Thank you for being here Keith." He says sleepily.

Keith smiles softly at Lance. He gets comfortable leaning against the tub so that he can comb through Lance's hair with his free hand. "No problem," he says softly.

Lance smiles and his tail kicks a bit at the touch but before long he's officially fallen asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

It isn't long after Lance fell asleep, Pidge comes in and plops onto the ground next to Keith. "So...still feeling fine?" They look at Lance, itching to study him but already tired from being up all night

Once Lance is asleep, he slowly slips his arm out of Lance's grasp. He turns his attention to Pidge. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"So far as I can tell," Pidge touches their forehead, obviously still not thrilled with the information gathered, "Sirens can keep a hold for a pretty long time but it's tiring to them. And when they sleep, the bond would usually break. Plus..." Pidge pushes their glasses up. "I did some digging and this town use to rally to find him. They aren't fond of a "sailor killer" living in their waters." They look at the sleeping siren then scratch their head. "I still can't actually figure out how he would have ended up in that lake."

He doesn't feel any different so that means mostly likely he isn't under a song. Not that he thought that he was but it's some sort of proof. "He said he ended up there before the tides fell and he couldn't find a way out."

Pidge purses their lips. "As far as I can tell...it was never connected to anything. Like, maybe I'm wrong. But...the nearest river is nowhere near here. And with it being freshwater it wouldn't have been from the ocean." They sigh then look to lance. "He sure doesn't look very intimidating when he's asleep." They scratch their heads then notice the bags of snacks. "I thought shiro told you not to eat in here." They laugh a bit and elbow Keith.

"I was feeding Lance," he blushes. "Shiro saw Lance licking the sugar of my fingers and screamed. He seemed okay with the food here since it was for Lance." He questions where Lance had came from. He can ask in more detail tomorrow. "Is there any questions you want to ask? He says that you guys can't know anything but I can ask whatever."

"He screamed?!" Pidge covers their mouth, trying not to laugh. "Oh man I wish I'd seen it." With a sigh, pidge looks back to Lance and kneels down. "Ooo sneaky discoveries. I like it." They look closely at Lance's scales. "Hm, they almost look like they have bioluminescence to them." They move away again. "I want to know everything. Are the children born in eggs? What is a typical lifespan? How do they withstand that much pressure without having skeletal or vision issues? How does his hair not look like a giant ball of poor now that its dry?" Pidge touches their hair. "Maybe that last one is just me."

Lance then pulls himself off the edge of the bathtub and curls up while whining a little, though he doesn't look asleep

Keith tries to memorize every question Pidge wants answered. He doesn't know if he will be able to remember them all. When Lance moves and whines, he get a bit worried. He moves closer to check on Lance. He combs his hand through Lance's hair. Since Lance doesn't look asleep, he is a bit worried that he heard the conversation.

Lance barely opens an eye, ears back, at Keith's touch. He smiles a bit then groans again. Curling up more, Lance sees Pidge in the room and tries to tense up and look intimidating but can't pull it off well as he is clearly not comfortable. "Keith." He whines a bit and Pidge raises an eyebrow curiously. Compared to the angry sounds earlier this is far different.

"It's okay. Pidge is just here to check up on me," Keith tries to sooth the siren. He moves closer, his bare stomach against the tub. It's cold but he forces himself not to move away.

Lance swallows and nods. "I don't think I should have eaten you food." He blinks hard trying to focus and grumbles as his stomach does another flip. Nearly following suit, Lance curls to the side, closer to Keith and whines.

Keith feel incredibly guilty. He was the one who picked out the food after all. Using both arms, he pulls Lance up and hugs him. "Do you feel like you're going to throw up?" One hand rubs Lance's back.

Lance whines but cuddles into the hug. He shrugs then buries his head into Keith's chest. "Throw up what? I'm not holding anything." He whines.

Pidge covers their face and groans. "Sirens are carnivorous. He likely can't digest the taurine from the..." Pidge realizes the blank stare Keith was giving them so the sigh. "His stomach can't digest it easily." They grumble the last bit quietly. "Unless sirens are like certain cats and taurine is a poison but I'm sure that's not the case...probably...maybe?" After shaking their head, they look over to Keith. "I'm going to go figure out something to try to help. Keep and eye on him."

Keith nods and turns his attention back to Lance. "Does it feel like the food is going to come back up?" Keith tried again. He is a bit surprised that Lance doesn't understand throwing up. What do merpeople call it? Do they even get this sick normally?

Lance shrugs. "Just hurts." He twitches his tail then cuddles in closer. "But I like being held like this." He admits. "I really like my human." Lance curls up tighter and whines again.

Keith blushes and hugs Lance a little tighter. The hand rubbing Lance's back moves to rub his belly, in hopes that it would help. It would also be easier if Keith could be in the water with Lance but that might make Lance feel even more cramped.

Lance grinds his teeth and growls a bit as his stomach does flips but tries to stop quickly as to not frighten Keith. His ears twitch as he cuddles closer. "Your heart is fast. Are you happy?" He looks up at Keith and his eyes are a more cloudy blue but he still looks happy

In truth, he was a mix of happy and scared. He knows that Lance will be okay but there is always that small chance of things going horribly wrong. The thought of Lance laying him him makes him feel tingly though. "Yeah. Is this helping at all?" He asks, referring to him rubbing Lance's stomach.

"Mmhmm." Lance nuzzles closer before wrapping his arms around Keith, making it basically impossible to rub his stomach anymore. He looks up at Keith and pouts. "This is in the way." He complains about the edge of the bathtub with a pout. "My nest is far more comfortable." He adds with a little whine.

"I could..." Keith's blush darkens. "Climb in." It feels more embarrassing to cuddle in a tub than to cuddle back at Lance's nest.

"Would you fit?" Lance touches Keith then the water. "And it's cold." He shakes his head. "I don't know if the necklace would help regulate in this small amount of water." He pouts. "I could come out for a while?" Though he looks a bit nervous about it, Lance _is_ smiling at the idea.

"We can do that." Carefully, Keith stands up and hugs Lance tight from behind. He lifts Lance up and brings him mostly out of the tub. They sit back down, Lance back against Keith's chest and half of Lance's tail still in the tub. If Lance wanted to come out all the way, it would be easy for him.

Lance pushes out out the tub and clings to Keith with a smile. Once the rest of the way out, he wraps his tail around Keith and starts to look around the room before shivering with discomfort again. "So is this your human home as well? Or just the ones with orange hair?"

He could help but move a hand to stroke Lance's tail. "Just the orange hair. I live further away from the beach," Keith says. His shorts were getting soaking wet but he doesn't mind.

Lance wiggles his fins when he feels Keith petting then and smiles happily. But when he says he lives further away, Lance pouts and his ears droop. "I don't want you to be further." He tightens his tail around Keith a bit and wraps his arms around him too.

Keith chuckles softly. "Me and Shiro had already planned to sleep here for a week so I won't be leaving for a while. Plus, my house is walking distance away so it's not too far." Keith's walking distance and a normal person's walking distance are very different.

Lance looks up at him and frowns. "But I can't walk to you." He nuzzles then runs his fingers along Keith's chest and sighs. "I don't want you to leave."

"It would be me walking silly." Keith nuzzles Lance back. "We'll figure something out."

"But what if you don't come back again." He mumbles before making circles on his chest. Looking toward the door and sighing. Shaking his head, Lance looks up to Keith with his head cocked and ears twitching. "So, do they still not trust me?"

Keith gently rubs across Lance's ears. He won't leave Lance alone. He will come back even if he has to fight Shiro. "Pidge might." Pidge honestly seems more into learning about sirens than worrying about his safety, probably since Lance is here, in their house.

"But not the bigger one." Lance's tail twitches. "I don't like him." His ears go back a bit and he whines. "I just want to make you happy and not be alone." Getting a bit huffy, Lance puffs up and pouts. "What did I do to make him hate me?"

Keith hugs Lance tightly. "He is just scared. He worries a lot for me since he was my first friend."

Lance melts into the hug. He doesn't realize how happy he seems. The end of his tail wags and his scales shimmer a bit. "Its nice that you have humans to worry for you." He says with a twinge of...jealousy(?) In his voice. "At least with me, you won't have to worry. I would never let you be hurt."

Keith smiles. He already knows that but Shiro doesn't. "I won't let you get hurt either."

Lance wiggles happily then touches Keith's chest and presses his palm against his skin before looking around and finally pushing Keith onto the ground and unwrapping his tail to lay beside him. Once one the ground he looks unhappy despite running his hands along one of Keith's arms, enjoying the feeling of muscles under his hands. "The ground is not very comfortable here. Sorry I didn't know."

Keith is surprised when he is suddenly pushed down. The tile floor is cold against his back. "It's okay," he reassures.

He continues to run his hands along Keith gently. His eyes trail him over, trying hard to ignore the pain in his stomach as he does. Hoping he isn't glaring, lance moves in close again and looks into Keith's eyes. "They really are like the sky." He says sweetly.

Keith blushes and looks away. "Purple isn't usually associated with the sky you know." He can feel his heartbeat.

"But when the sun is going down but the sky is mainly dark, the most beautiful blues and violets tend to dance among the stars." He smiles and his ears twitch despite him pouting. "These lights are so bright that they make little stars in them too." He smiles and presses himself against Keith. "Hm and warm, like a low sun." His tail twitches happily again.

Keith blushes more. He cuddles more as he gazes at Lance. "You're eyes are prettier. They are a deep blue and your tail." Keith brushes a hand over Lance's tail. "It's really beautiful." Keith is really bad at giving compliments.

Thankfully for Keith, Lance doesn't remember the last time he's gotten compliments before Keith. "You really think so?" He finally feels his own heart skip like Keith's has been. "I wasn't sure I liked this blue." He puts his wrist against Keith's chest and smiles. "Your words made my heart faster like yours." He laughs. "I'm so happy."

Keith blushes more and his stomach does a flip. "I really like the blue," he doesn't know what to say. "What color tail do you think I would have?"

Lance props himself up to look Keith over and run his fingers over his waist then purses his lips thinking. "Maybe black violet, like your eyes, and red." He thinks then nods. "Complimenting to your hair. And red because it reminds me of my favorite coral." He smiles playfully then pulls himself off of Keith to hop back into the water, making a bit more of a mess than he meant to.

He shivers at the touch. He tries to imagine himself with a tail but he can't think of any other than Lance's. He sits up and looks at the wet floor surrounding the tub. He is a bit disappointed that Lance went back in but he understands that Lance needs the water. "You okay?" He asks to make sure Lance didn't injure himself while getting back in.

"Just felt dry." He looks back and sees the look of disappointment and his smile grows. Reaching his arms out, Lance giggles then pulls Keith into the bathtub. Pulling him on top of him, Lance just giggles again. "You really like me!" He says happily.

Keith helps Lance by moving his legs to climb in without flopping on Lance. He blushes more and hides his face in Lance's shoulder. "Yeah," he mumbles softly.

Lance's smile just grows more and he laughs a bit. His scales shimmer a bit more and he grips Keith tight before nuzzling his face against Keith's hair. "You are my human and I make you happy." He giggles then looks at Keith excitedly. "If - when I go back home, I will gather you gifts. If we were in the ocean they would be more plentiful but I will find pretty things for you."

Matt peaks his head in and tries not to squeal when he sees them cuddling. "We're ordering Chinese. Want anything?" He pulls his head back so he can grin for a minute then clears his throat to look back. "And your fishboyfriend, can he eat any of it?"

Keith lifts his head and glares at Matt. He was just about to fully relax and Matt ruined the moment. "Can you order the shrimp thing? Lance might only be able to eat meat and seafood."

"Shrimp!" Lance perks up. "I haven't had shrimp in ages." He wags his tail excitedly.  
Matt wiggles his fingers on his nose toward Keith. "I can do shrimp." He looks them over. "Good other than that?" He promise Shiro he'd check on them for a few. He _really_ wants to study this siren. Maybe snatch a bit of hair or a scale or something but...he also is pretty afraid to piss it off.

"Just shrimp is fine. Thanks." He hopes Matt leaves soon. He wants to cuddle Lance but not in front of someone.

Matt shrugs. "Ok well if Shiro asks I was totally in here longer than this." He says before darting away.

Lance's tail is still wagging when Keith looks back at him. "You have access to shrimp here!?" He is clearly super excited about it."

"Yeah, they are cooked though," Keith replies. Chinese food is a bit expensive so hopefully they can find other things Lance can eat.

"Cooked shrimp?" Lance curls his tail around Keith and pulls him into him. "You like it too?" He smiles then starts to play with Keith's hair.

"Yeah," Keith replies softly. He melts at the touch and humma softly.

Lance watches Keith and smiles before playing with his hair more, giving a silly smile to show his joy. It isn't long before Matt comes back in the room, holding a couple bags of food.

"Hey again. Pidge ordered a handful of salad shrimp for your fishboyfriend and said 'he's already pushing it with this' and wouldn't let me get him shrimp general tso." Once done rambling, he notices Keith's skin breaking out in small goosebumps. "Man. How did you look...I dont know...not cold when you came up from the lake?" He points at the necklace. "Was it that? Can I see it?"

Hearing the question, Lance shrugs. "It's Keith's now. He decides."

Keith choose to ignore Matt's nickname for Lance. He doesn't see any harm in letting Matt see it. "Sure." Keith takes off the necklace. He shakes his head to make his hair fall back to its natural place and holds the necklace out for Matt.

Lance smirks but doesn't say anything. Though watching Keith shake his hair our seems to almost hypnotize him.

"So does this thing have a name or anything?" He turns it around in his hands. "It's such an odd looking stone."

Lance raises an eyebrow and just shrugs, clearly not wanting to talk to the other human and just runs both hands through Keith's hair.

Keith slumps back down against Lance, not caring if Matt teases him. He starts to feel slightly drowsy.

"C-can I borrow this?" Matt asks as he examines it.

Lance watches Keith slump down and wraps his tail around him before leaning down as if listening to him. "You are tired." He pouts, still rubbing his head. "Humans...can they sleep like this?" Wanting the shrimp Matt had carried in, lance glares and holds one hand out. To which Matt quickly hands the food over.

"Just return it in the morning," Keith says and lifts his head up, wanting to eat with Lance. "People don't normally sleep in water but I should be okay as long as my face isn't in the water."

"Oh my god thank you! I will!" Matt then darts away as quick as he can.

Lance had opened the box of shrimp and noe stares at it with a look of utter confusion. However, when Keith talks, he. Puts the food back down and pulls him up his chest more. "If you are tired. Sleep. I'll keep you safe." He nuzzles Keith's nose with his own then smiles. "Did you want me to feed you first?"

Keith blushes and smiles nervously. "I wanted to eat together first."

Lance smiles and tilts his head, ears twitching a bit. "We can both eat. I just wanted to feed you to make up for you feeding me earlier." He smiles then looks back to the thing he thinks is suppose to be shrimp? Grabbing the other box that smells rather odd, he sits it on the edge of the bathtub.

Keith sits up a bit. "Should we feed each other?"

"But you fed me already." Lance pouts. He didn't want to admit he was just not sure what to think of these weird "shrimp" the other humans had brought. Sitting up further with keith, he wraps his tail around him, covering his legs with his fins.

"Then you feed me a few first then we can feed each other," Keith said as he held down a yawn.

Lance's ear twitches but he agrees and grabs one of the weird looking...shrimp...tails(?) and puts it toward Keith's mouth. "You make a very cute face when you yawn." He teases, nose twitching a bit with the smell of the cooked shrimp.

Keith eats the shrimp from Lance's hand, careful not to get Lance's fingers. He pouts as he chews.

Lance laughs a little then grabs another shrimp and puts it on Keith's nose with a big smile.

Keith exaggerates his pout and makes sure not to move. It would be a waste if the shrimp fell into the water.

Lance laughs more than just puts it in Keith's mouth. He moves in and nuzzles his cheek against Keith's and makes something of a purring sound before pulling back to grab another piece of shrimp for keith.

Keith doesn't chew as Lance nuzzles. The purring-like sound interests him, he wonders how Lance is able to do that. He swallows that shrimp and eagerly eats the next one. He decides that he'll eat a few more before feeding Lance.

Lance's ears twitch and he looks around and smirks but then just grabs a shrimp and holds it out for Keith to take. It's not as close to Keith as he's been putting them. Honestly, it's more over him than it is Keith.

Keith scrunches his eyebrows together slightly, noticing the difference in distance. He doesn't know if Lance is planning something or not but he leans closer to get the shrimp.

Lance smiles and uses his tail to push Keith up to his face and nuzzles him again before pulling back and playfully rubbing their noses together. He releases him a bit then holds the shrimp back out again.

Keith's whole face becomes red. He takes the shrimp quickly while giving Lance a very grumpy face. A grumpy face while blushing doesn't give the message that he wants.

Lance starts to laugh before he notices Keith's grumpy, red face. His ears droop and he bows his head before just sliding the box of shrimp over to Keith with a muted whining sound, thinking he'd done something wrong.

Keith's face instantly cools down and he looks sadly at Lance. He cups Lance's face and make him look back up. He can already guess what made Lance react that way. "I'm not mad." Keith blushes lightly again. "I was just... Blushing," he mumbles the last part.

"I didn't make you mad?" He looks up, ears still drooping but eyes a bit hopeful. Kinking his head to one side, Lance touches Keith's cheeks. "Can I help you not blush?" His voice is still a bit nervous, obviously being really concerned with not upsetting Keith.

"You're... S-supposed to make my blush," he mumbles softly. His heart is racing and he hopes that this type of relationship is what Lance wants. It hurts thinking that all this could be just a way a siren makes friends with a human.

Lance's ears twitch again so he pulls Keith close and rubs his cheek against Keith's again before separating and resting his forehead against Keith's. "So it's a good thing if you blush?" He looks at Keith then tilts his head a bit. "I like it. It's cute." He pulls Keith as close as he can, completely ignoring the shrimp now as he holds Keith in what can only be described as a protective hug as he makes the odd purring noise again.

Keith's blush darkens. He is a little stiff at first but relaxes as Lance makes the purring-like sound. Keith hugs Lance back loosely as his mind runs at a million miles an hour.

Lance nuzzles again, still purring as he does then runs his hand down Keith's to "hold hands" as he's been requesting. "This...is good?"

Keith complies. He smiles, loving that their 'holding hands' is special for the two of them. "Yeah." He nuzzles back.

Lance's scales shimmer again and he smiles. "I make my human happy." He says, voice almost vibrating with the purr before humming a bit. "My Keith makes me happy too."

There is a soft rumble sound that comes from Keith's chest as he nuzzles his cheek against Lance's. It's not exactly a purr but it's definitely close enough to know he is trying. Keith is a bit surprised that he made the sound, it was on instinct.

Lance's ears perk up and he looks honestly surprised. He smiles then leans in to push his nose against Keith's before moving in to kiss him, still keeping his hands against Keith's and purring. His tail, however has started wagging a bit more and the scales there are shimmering.

Keith can't keep making the noise as long as Lance can but he does it again as they kiss. His whole body tingles and his other arm wraps around Lance's neck. This definitely meant Lance was looking for a romantic relationship, right? His heart flutters.

Lance's ears twitch when he hears Keith's heart flutter. Happy that Keith seems to enjoy the kiss, Lance wraps his free arm around Keith's waste and pulls him the rest of the way up his tail so they are chest to chest before he wraps his tail around one of Keith's legs.

Being against Lance feels so different. Cold skin and smooth scales. It wasn't bad, it feels really nice actually.

Lance purrs a bit more then stops when he gets too distracted by the warmth of Keith's body. He gently runs his hand over Keith's muscles enjoying the sensation more than he thought he would. His eyes open again as they continue to kiss and his scales shimmer more.

Not wanting to break away, he kisses as long as he can. His eyes only shoot open when he has to pull away to breath. His whole body still felt tingly as he panted with half lidded eyes.

Lance's ears twitch and he follows toward Keith, clearly still wanting to kiss more. His tail wags a bit and he purrs a little more loudly again before running his hands up Keith's arms and nuzzling his face against Keith's hair.

Keith lets out a small whine, messing up on doing his purring. He moves to kiss Lance again.

Lance doesn't hesitate to return the kiss. He pushes himself against Keith again then starts to brush his hair out of his eyes with one hand while using the other to trail along muscles. "I...like this...a lot." Lance says quietly, separating for just a second.

Keith hums into the kiss, agreeing to what Lance said. He is now able to wrap both arms around Lance's neck, pulling himself closer as well as deepening the kiss. The hand trailing over his muscles causes shivers.

Lance nuzzles into Keith's arms and feels oddly warm all over. It's been a long time since he was this happy. His tail shows that for sure, twitching almost erratically as the kiss deepens. He opens his eyes as they kiss, not liking missing the red of Keith's cheeks or the possibility of seeing his eyes.

Aaaaand then the door opens, before it even does, Matt is already talking. "Ok, this thing reacts so different under different types of-" He pauses and seems to freeze in place for a second, "Different types of..." Stepping backwards out the bathroom, he tries to walk away quietly. "Piiiiiidge!" He shouts. "New thing!"

Keith pulls away quickly when Matt screams. "We got caught," Keith mumbles sadly. He feels so embarrassed. To him at least, the mood was ruined.

Lance tilts his head, looking from Keith to the door and furrows his eyebrows. "But we're still right here?" However, he can see that Keith doesn't seem to want to continue kissing so he rubs a hand along Keith's arm and finally stops purring as he looks at him.

Matt finds Pidge with Shiro in the main room, looking over some new page about Sirens. "Ok first of all, how do you find so many of these pages. Second, Sirens purr like Damsel fish, except like...louder? I wonder if its made with the sonic muscle and swim bladder like other fish." He touches his forehead. "That kinda sounded like I wanted to dissect Keith's fishboyfriend."

"He was purring like a damsel fish?" Shiro asks with wide eyes. Matt told him about them a while back. Those fish purr as part of mating. He is ready to burst to the bathroom but doesn't yet in hopes he heard wrong.

"Caught also means found or seen," Keith informs Lance as he hides his face in Lance's shoulder. He tries to purr again, missing the sound of Lance's. He manages to purr but it's softer than his first time. He'll need more practice.

Lance instantly purrs again then rubs his cheek against Keith's and laughs a little. "I've only ever heard the term for...you know...like me now?" He doesn't mean to sound offended but he can't help but be annoyed that he's still stuck here. He doesn't often sit still like this for long.

"Well, it was the closest purr I could think of. Not really the purr of a dragon fish. It was lower than that. So...sorta. But, man does that mean they have more animal like organ structure?" Matt hops next to Pidge, looking over the information they've gathered.

Not wanting to risk it, Shiro runs to the bathroom. He runs in on the two nuzzling and purring. "Why are you in the water?!" Shiro asks Keith.

"Cause Lance felt uncomfortable having to be against the tub wall all the time."

"How long have you been in there? Aren't you cold?" Shiro frantically asks as he gets closer. He plans to pull Keith out of the water. He notices the food and is about to move it away.

Lance snarls when Shiro shows up and his purr changes to more of a growl. He glares at Shiro, letting him speak despite not wanting to then bites the air and threatens with his claws when Shiro goes to move the food. "That's ours." His voice is lower and his ears are back then he finally lashes out to grab the food, pretending he wasn't a little afraid to eat it. "My human is still warm." Lance growls. "And if we weren't in this thing, " he motions to the bathtub, "it wouldn't be so bad. But that wasn't my decision." Almost every word is a hiss and the wagging of his tail has become more of an angered twitch.

Shiro flinches back. Keith wraps his arms around Lance's neck and place both hands on the back of Lance's head. He moves up to press his forehead against Lance's, gaining the siren's attention. "Calm down," Keith says softly," It's okay. Shiro is just worried since humans don't usually stay in the bathtub for so long." Shiro is shocked to see Keith acting like this. He is glad Keith is able to calm Lance down but never has he seen Keith being so loving. He wants to be happy for Keith but he is also scared for him.

"Well sirens don't usually either." He barks, struggling to decide whether to glare at Shiro or look at Keith. But he can't stand to not meet Keith's eyes and when he does, Lance smiles and whispers, "hmm my night sky eyes." Before hugging him to glare at Shiro without Keith knowing then he nuzzles against Keith's cheek. "Should you get out of the water. You don't have the necklace so it can't help you." He pouts. "I don't want you to get sick. Maybe, I could come out of the water again for a while?"

Keith hums and blushes when Lance comments on his eyes again. Are his eyes really that pretty? Shiro glares back at Lance, still not liking their closeness. Keith doesn't know if being out of the water in wet clothes is any better than just staying in the water. "Does the necklace help with that too?" Keith asks. Shiro doesn't make a move but stays and watches. Lance does intimidate him but if Keith is in danger, he won't hesitate to act.

"It does." Lance smiles to him. "It's called a Siren stone." He brushes Keith's ear behind his ear then gets momentarily distracted by his ears. "Human ears are cute. So small." As if to prove a point, Lance twitches his then shakes his head. "It lets a human be as a siren while in water. Soo...they can breathe, speak, see and their skin is coated like ours." He smiles. "Did you think it was normal for humans to see in an underwater cave." He teases playfully. "Seawitch Allura made it for me many years ago." He grins a bit, something between sadistically and deviously. "She's probably curious about the human hands on it...so far from shore." Shrugging, he adds. "Well if she's even still alive that is."

Keith blushes. He loves the feeling of Lance's fingertips brushing behind his ear but it's weird having his ears compared to someone else's. The last thing Lance says bothers him a bit. "Do people attack her?"

"No no. Well...probably...maybe?" Lance honestly isn't sure. "I haven't seen her in years." He rubs his cheek against Keith's again and purrs a bit more. "I wouldn't worry about her though. She'd like you alright."

Keith smiles and nuzzles back, trying his best to purr again. Shiro is surprised that Keith would react to the purring. He can only picture the worse. Lance dominating Keith in the bathtub against his will. He tries to calm himself, they aren't doing anything right now. There is no sense in doing the mating call or whatever the purring means in front of someone who would stop them.

Keith twitches his own ear, having the muscle to be able to do so. He hopes Lance notices without having to point it out to the siren.

Lance does notice Keith's ear moving and smiles brilliantly before twitching his ears again and laughing again. He touches his hands to Keith's cheek before running his fingers along Keith's ear. Growing ever impatient with Shiro, Lance glances at him angrily then, hoping eating something would calm him, Lance grabs one of the shrimp and his eye involuntarily twitches as he drops it in his mouth, not really chewing as they were smaller, but being sure to snap his teeth shut quickly. The siren's scales themselves seem to shiver as he swallows and Lance points at the food with a snarl. "that does not taste like shrimp!"

Keith smiles when Lance twitches his ears again. He hums softly when his ear is traced. When Lance stops, he looks to Shiro. Shiro doesn't look at Keith. He doesn't plan to leave them alone yet. Keith huffs and watches as Lance eats. He jumps a bit when Lance snarls, not having expected it. "It's been cooked. Cooking it changes how it tastes."

"Humans eat strange food." He grumbles then picks another one up, ears violently drooping as his stomach is growling a bit and this instantly seemed to settle. Whining a bit, he grabs a small handful and swallows them quickly, hoping the flavor won't be as noticeable that way. Twitching a few times he shakes his head then pushes the food away and turns back to Keith and grinds his teeth. His tail starts twitching angrily, but looking at Keith calms him down. He goes back to tracing Keith's ear as he seemed to have enjoyed it. Doing this and occasionally glaring back to Shiro, Lance finally gets uncomfortable enough being watched that he just growls then curls up around Keith, hiding most of himself under the water. He is clearly talking - rather angrily - but neither Keith nor Shiro will be able to understand it.

Keith is worried for Lance as the siren eats. He can't imagine how different it tastes for Lance. When his ear gets traces again, he smiles softly and leans towards the touch. Shiro still refuses to leave, wanting to make sure the two don't do anything. If Keith refuses to leave the bathroom, he'll need to tell Matt. Keith's eyes widen when Lance suddenly curls around him. He wish he could understand what Lance is saying but it's not too hard to guess. He looks at Shiro and glares lightly. "Can you leave now? We aren't doing anything."

"You swear on it?" Shiro asks, glaring lightly back.

"I swear." Shiro searches Keith's eyes for any hint that he is being lied to. Not finding any, he huffs and leaves. He goes back to Matt and Pidge to tell them about the necklace and seawitch.

Lance, not being able to decipher sounds as well in this tub, doesn't know Shiro has left but he's still tense as he is curled around Keith.

Back in the main room, Pidge had returned to their room, hoping to "be away from the rambling man" but, Matt is frozen, staring at a woman who basically just...let herself inside then sat down and had just...stared at the necklace and laughed? He'd asked her name to which she'd just responded with a chuckle before turning back to the necklace. When she sees Shiro, the woman's eyebrow raises. "It would seem you have a Lance problem." She laughs

"Are you sea witch Allura?" Shiro asks. He does not need more craziness right now.

Keith looks down at Lance and combs a hand through Lance's hair. It feels different doing it underwater. He points to where Shiro was and shakes his head, hoping Lance understands what he means.

Lance smiles then just pulls Keith down to him, barely coming out of the water enough to let Keith breath as they kiss. He wraps his tail around him and purrs, somehow more loudly.

"Ah. He actually told you about me. Very unlike him." She crosses her legs again then points to the necklace. "If you have that, he must have found another human to care for." She rolls her eyes a bit and seems to sigh at the words. "But if he's way out here, *my * assumption would be that you lovely folks aren't so fond of the thought.

"Of course not! He used a song on Keith!" Shiro is obviously not calm enough for this.

Keith hums into the kiss. Both of his hands are against the bottom of the tub, making sure his face doesn't do underwater.

Lance slides himself up, pulling Keith close into him as he purrs happily. Having noted about how long Keith liked to kiss without a breath, Lance stops then nuzzles into him before leaning in to lick Keith's jawline and giving another "heee" type laugh through his teeth. "Are you still tired Keith?" He looks pouty at the thought. "We could try drying me off and let you sleep not in the water?"

"Oooof course he did." Allura groans as if she's heard this before. "Why Lance feels the need to charm humans when there are perfectly acceptable merfolk in the sea I will never understand." Shaking her head, Allura walks up to Shiro with a playful grin. "I could help you...solve your problem. If you'd like."

Shiro squints his eyes. "What do you mean?" He's not sure if he likes where this is heading.

Keith shivers when Lance licks his jawline. It's oddly sensitive to the touch of Lance's tongue. "I'm not as tired." He lays his head against Lance's shoulder. "It would be easier if I just slept here. My clothes are completely soaked and would only feel colder out of the water."

Allura walks over to Shiro and pats him on the head. "Lance is..." She tries to choose her words carefully. "Well, a friend. But, he can be a bit much to handle." Reaching to grab the necklace, she snatches it from Matt who goes to retort then decides it better to maybe...not. "He asked me to make this for his first human. He's always asking for things." Smiling again Allura looks back to Shiro. "I could make him far less frightening...if you'd like."

Lance grabs Keith and nuzzles him close, wrapping his entire body around keith. "Are you sure? Humans on land tend to sleep in..." He thinks for a bit. "Beds?" He thinks about it then nods. "Would it not be better for you there?" He droops his ears and pouts. "Not that I want you to leave." He looks toward the door and growls. "Especially not with Shiro around still." His words are released in a violent growl.

Keith sighs and nuzzles into Lance's neck. "I'll be fine. We can figure out something better for tomorrow." This won't be the first time Keith sleeps without being on a bed or couch.

"That would be... Great, " Shiro trails off, not sure how Allura will be able to pull that off.

Lance fidgets excitedly. "Tomorrow~" He agrees then lays in a way that he catches his head in the corner of the bathtub, against the walls, to assure Keith won't fall, then holds him with his whole tail and both arms. He's purring a bit still. "I am very happy with you staying here human."

Allura takes the necklace and runs her hands along her chin. "Now, I won't harm him." She states bluntly. "He is a friend." Interrupting herself, Allura quietly groans, "even if he can be overwhelming at times," Before clearing her throat and turning to Shiro. "There are a couple of fairly easy ways I can do this." Thinking for a bit, Allura grins. "He's chosen a human, correct?"

Shiro wonders if they will run into any other non humans because of Lance. "Yes," Shiro answered quickly. He wants to rant but a stranger isn't the right person to give it to.

Keith smiles. He does feel a bit colder but he'll get used to it. "I'm very happy too," he says softly. His eyes start to get heavy as he lets out a yawn.

Allura can obviously sense Shiro's irritation. "I'm sorry." She laughs a little. "If you do decide to tell me the many, many thoughts on your mind I am in no particular hurry." Stretching a bit, Allura starts to think aloud. "I suppose the next question might be most important. So please answer as honestly as you can." Allura holds out one hand and then the other. "Do your human actually cares for Lance or are they simply charmed?"

Lance nuzzles against him and purrs before humming as quietly as he can, hoping a siren lullaby will help Keith fall asleep despite his slight shivers.

Keith's eyelids grow increasingly heavy as Lance hums. He nuzzles against Lance one last time before letting his eyes close. Not long after that his breathing becomes deep and even, showing that he has fallen asleep.

Shiro hesitates. He doesn't know for sure. He wants to believe that Keith is just charmed. He looks to Matt and Pidge. "He most likely actually cares," Pidge says.

Lance curls close, tired from the day as well though he hadn't wanted to admit it to Keith as he was happy to care for his human all day. It doesn't take him long to fall asleep despite the odd sleeping position.

"Most likely?" Allura juts her lower lip out then sighs. "Then there's two things I can do for you. " She licks her teeth and looks to her hands. "Ugh. I need to clean my nails- sorry." She shakes her head. "Anyway. If you want to absolutely guarantee your human's safety, I can ban Lance to his lake make him a necklace that would stop his charms. This would, of course, be only for the lifetime of your human." She puts a finger up. "The main issue with that, is clearly, if your human is happy, they will have to stay with Lance in the lake." She smiles and shrugs. "The other option is to take away his siren's song entirely."

Shiro did not like the first idea. If Keith is truly happy with Lance, he does not want him living in a lake for the rest of his life. "The second option sounds better," Shiro says. It only takes away Lance's hypnotic power. No harm done to anyone.

Allura claps her hands together and smiles brilliantly. "I was hoping that would be the option you pick." She takes an empty vial from her satchel and holds the siren's song in the other. Closing her eyes, she hums a quiet song then crushes the stone - which makes Matt almost cry - and places the little bits into the vial. "Add this to his water and you won't have to worry about his song." She can hardly keep back her smile.

"What do you mean by his water?" Pidge asks as they adjust their glasses. "Do you mean the water he sits in now or the lake?" They wanted clarification, not understanding how that will take away Lance's song abilities.

"The water he currently resides in." Allura states plainly. "The lake is just a lake. There is nothing special about it. But the water he is in now is how he is breathing. And that is how he will breathe this in and thus lose his song." Seeing the cogs turning in Pidge's head, Allura smiles. "It's magic dear."

"The stone." Matt says sadly.

"I can get you another." Allura rolls her eyes and chuckles. "Now, did you have more questions? Or am I free to take my leave?" Pointing up quickly, Allura opens her mouth quickly. "Ah!" She pulls out a bracelet. "If you would be so kind and put this on his wrist once the dust is in his water?"

"What does it do?" Pidge asks as they take it. Pidge is the most stealthy out of the group after all.

"Wait, will this affect Keith?" Shiro asks, holding out the vial.

"It takes away Lance's siren song, making him harmless." She says with a smile, a bit surprised the human was able to take the vial. "No. It won't harm a human. There is no song to soak up from them." Allura smiles. "And the bracelet? You will have him wear it?"

"Yeah. I can slip it on him," Pidge says, examining the bracelet. Shiro hands Pidge the vial. His presence would probably wake Lance up.

"Wonderful!" She claps her hands together and smiles. "By morning, Lance's siren song will be gone. No more fears~." Her voice is almost sing songy. "Well, if there's nothing more, I will be taking my leave." And with that, the witch is gone almost as fast as she appeared, her amused laugh only barely being heard before she vanished.

Looking at the vial, Matt is still pouty. "She crushed the stone. " He suddenly perks up. "How did she crush the stone?! I'd tried to scratch some off and couldn't get anything." Looking at the vial with Pidge, Matt sighs. "So you're gonna put it in the water?"

"Yeah. We should examine it a bit first," Pidge says. Shiro sighs and sits down. By morning, they'll know whether or not Keith is under a charm or not.

"Of course!" Matt snatches the bracelet and starts to look it over. "Why the bracelet I wonder?" He questions before scratching his nose. "And, " while getting a few tools to examine it more closely, Matt speaks. "I wonder why she didn't ask us for anything in exchange." Humming and hawing over what he sees, Matt goes, "It's rope. Like...just a standard...rope. I'm running a few tests on it to check for trace chemicals but so far looks like regular ol' rope."

"Maybe she charmed it. She is a witch after all." Pidge was fiddling with the vial. They didn't want to open or spill any of the crumpled up rock just in case it messes up the spell.

"I mean, probably, but how am I suppose to test that? Do you have a secret magic radar I don't know about?" Matt scoots in close to look at the crumbles. "It doesn't glow anymore or anything. Just...looks like dust now." He sits up and squints toward the door. "Maybe we got punked?"

"We won't know until we try." Pidge snatches the bracelet back and practically starts skipping to the bathroom Lance and Keith were in.

"But-" Matt groans then walks over to Shiro and whines. "Did you see? She took away my research!"

Shiro sighs and pulls Matt into a hug. "You'll live."

Pidge peaks into the bathroom and sees that the two are asleep in the bathtub. Luckily they brought their phone with them. Slowly and quietly, they make their way to the bathtub. First they pour the vial then sneakily slips the bracelet onto one of Lance's wrists. With a smirk, Pidge pulls out their phone and takes a few photos. Once satisfied, they sneak away, back to the main room.

When Matt sees Pidge return, he perks up. "Well, did it do anything?"

"Not yet," Pidge says, "But look at this!" Pidge pulls out their phone and shows Matt the photos of Keith and Lance sleep cuddling.

Matt grabs Shiro's shoulders and shakes him with a laugh. "He fell asleep on his fishboyfriend!" Leaning down he laughs a bit. "They are kind of cute...in a...one of them is a siren and could probably bite our hand off literally kinda way."

Shiro sees the photo and groans, blushing a bit at seeing Keith asleep like that. "I mean, he doesn't exactly look very intimidating when he's like that?" He pushes the phone away and covers his face. "I can't believe Keith finally found someone that makes him happy and it's...a siren."

Pidge laughs. "I'm surprised he found anyone at all!" Shiro sighs and drags Matt to bed, needing a rest after all the things that has happened today.


	6. Chapter 6

Keith feels something warm and cuddles against it. He slowly remembers last night. He fell asleep with Lance in the bathtub. Then it hit him. Lance shouldn't be warm. Worried, Keith's eyes shot open to look at Lance. What he saw only made him worry more. "Lance! Wake up!" He yelled as he slightly shook Lance's shoulders.

Lance curls up tighter when Keith moves, feeling cold now that he was gone. He grabs Keith, hoping to calm him down but when he sees his hands, Lance lets out an awkward yelp sound then looks like he tries to throw his hand away. Obviously that doesn't work so he looks over more of himself and starts to make a very strange strand of sounds while pushing himself further away from Keith before screaming. "WHAT DID YOU DO?! IF THIS IS A TRICK I VERY MUCH DO NOT APPRECIATE IT!" He rubs at his arms, trying to wipe away the feeling he has there.

Keith flinches. "I-I didn't do anything! I just woke up!"

Lance looks himself over and shakes his head. "BUT I'M A HUMAN!" He shouts again before pushing away as if Keith has magic powers he hadn't been told about. He cradles himself, clearly terrified. Covering his face then uncovering it, Lance sees that nothing has changed so he just growls.

Hearing screaming, Shiro jumps out of bed and runs to the bathroom. On the way there, he runs into Pidge. "It sounds like it worked," they said as the two of them enter to see Lance curled up but definitely human. Keith is on the other side, worried and on the verge of breaking into tears.

Lance sees the two humans come in and snarls at them, not caring that it will be obviously less intimidating without his piranha teeth. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He loudly growls at the humans staring at them, starting to shiver from the cold. "Wh-why am I human?!" Lance tries to sound angry but he's more just horrified. Shiro stands looking relatively shocked by what he sees, but when he meets Keith's gaze, he moves beside him but can't really find words to say.

"A witch visited last night. She shattered your necklace into dust and gave us that bracelet." Pidge points to Lance's wrist. "She said she would make you unable to use your songs. Said nothing about you turning human." Keith didn't know what to say. Lance is mad enough to push him away. It's his fault for dragging Lance into all this.

Lance looks at the bracelet and his face goes to pure rage. "Allura I am going to murder you...somehow." He growls toward the bracelet then just looks at the other humans. "So," His voice is quivering as he tries to keep from screaming as he realized it obviously wasn't Keith's fault and he now felt rather awful for yelling at him. "So...a sea witch gave you a chance to take away part of me..." His breathing becomes shallow, clearly panicking now. "And no one questions that. But I sit here, willing to stay in a dumb...in this stupid thing all d-day and I'm the scary one?!" Lance has his teeth clenched hard then finally just shuts his eyes. "Humans are so cold. How can you stand being cold like this!?" He shouts a bit again.

"We didn't mean for it to-" Shiro isn't sure how to word it. "She just said it would take away your song. So we assumed it would be safer for everyone?" He looks to Pidge for reassurance that they'd done the right thing.

"She said your song so we assumed she just meant your hypnotizing powers," Pidge says. Keith watches the three of them from his own curled up form. He was also cold but he was more worried about Lance. Maybe he should have texted them before he want underwater with Lance. Maybe they would still be there, without all this chaos.

Lance just looks to the other humans and pitifully growls. "Can you just leave?" He looks at them both with watery eyes. "I'm obviously not a threat anymore." Waiting for the other humans to leave, Lance bows his head to Keith, looking oddly guilty all things considered. "I'm sorry I yelled at you." His voice sounds quiet and fragile. "I didn't mean to scare you." Feeling his throat tighten, Lance reaches up to touch it then whimpers. "I'm...really sorry. Please don't be mad?" He looks ready to cry.

Pidge had to drag Shiro out of the room. Keith sniffed to keep his tears back. "I'm sorry," he said. His voice was soft and uneven. "If I hadn't told them about you... You wouldn't be here like this."

"It's not your fault." Lance says sternly. He reaches and grabs Keith, propping his head on Keith's arm. "I want to be with you." He tries to smile up at him. "You're my human." Pausing because of the reality of what he just said makes his eyes more watery, Lance whimpers. "You're my Keith still right?" His voice sounds like it's ready to crumble. "I don't have my tail you liked. I'm not...your siren but..you are still my Keith, right?" Lance is clearly about to cry but is trying to ignore it.

"I'm still your Keith," he replies with a shaky voice. He cuddles closer. "You're still my Lance, siren or not."

Lance is shivering but exhales when Keith speaks. "I don't know anything about being a human." He says something between anger and sadness. "I just wanted to make you happy but now I'm - I'm really cold." Trying to be a bit more chipper he laughs but it breaks mid sound so he just whines. "Are you this cold all the time?" Lance questions honestly.

"Not all the time. It's because you're naked." Keith reaches behind him and pulls down the towel from the rack. "Here, wrap this around you."

Lance grabs it and does as Keith tell him to then rests his head on Keith's shoulder. "You...can teach me?" He asks quietly. "And I will try to be good for you still. Since you are my human." Not able to hide how disappointed with everything he is , Lance just sighs then looks at his legs then touches them and quickly reels his hand back before just burying his face into Keith again.

"I'll teach you," Keith says softly as he hugs Lance. He is probably not ready for clothes just yet. Keith is still in dripping wet shorts.

Lance just swallows hard then nuzzles his cheek into Keith's, trying to be happy but his chest is heavy with flooding emotions. After a few moments of silence, Lance smiles up to Keith, his eyes still look ready to cry and his voice is shaky, "at least they have no reason to separate us now, right?"

"Yeah," Keith smiled. The two of them should get dry clothes on. While still hugging Lance, Keith slowly stands up. "Can you stand?"

Lance laughs a little then bitter words exit his lips. "Don't know never tried." He had carefully watched Keith stand and since Keith was hugging him, Lance figured it wouldn't be too hard. Clinging tight to Keith, he tries to stand. After a bit of trial and error, he is at least balancing with the help of Keith. He is on the brink of tears by the time he's standing so he refuses to meet Keith's eyes. "I'm sorry." He says quietly.

"It's okay," Keith said soothingly. He nuzzles his cheek against Lance's. "Do you want to try walking?"

"I kind of have to." Lance grumbles. But he had seen humans do this for years so...how hard can it be? He shivers a bit as standing had stopped him from being balled up. Finally Lance follows Keith's lead and sticks one foot out. The only reason he doesn't fall is that he is clinging to Keith. Horridly unsteady on his feet, lance follows Keith outside the bathroom. "This is stupid why do humans move this way. There is so little balance or fluidity to this." He has officially started to complain but is blissfully unaware of the tears that had started to slowly roll down his cheeks.

Instead of making Lance walk all the way to his stuff, he lead Lance to the bed. Once he got Lance seated, he was able to wipe the tears away. "All land... Most land animals walk on legs. It's an evolution thing."

"It's a stupid thing." Lance whines but runs a hand over the blankets of the bed. He nuzzles into Keith's hand then makes a frustrated face that vanishes into sadness. Grabbing Keith in a hug, Lance tries to keep himself strong but is failing pretty hard salt this point. "I never knew humans felt like this." He runs his hands along Keith and buries his face into Keith's shoulder. "I don't know how you deal with it."

Keith hugs back. "Everything will be okay. We'll find a way to turn you back."

Lance says nothing at first, simply cuddles into the hug and whines. "At least I have my Keith." He keeps reminding himself. After pulling away from the hug, Lance turns back to the bed and runs his hands over the blankets some more. "Beds are very soft." He says quietly then looks back to Keith. "Even softer than my nest at home." He thinks for a minute then laughs sadly. "I can't go home now."

Keith isn't good at comforting people. He rubs Lance's upper arm. "For now. I don't think you're permanently human."

Lance smiles and nuzzles his cheek into Keith's before taking a deep breath. He shakes his head and tries not to be so sad. Keith is here. He should be happy now. "I hope not." He laughs then his eyes go wide. "I-if you don't want me to be! I - I guess if y-you wanted me to stay like this I would." It seems painful for him to admit. Finally, he turns his attention to the bed. Most of him was dry by this point, thankfully, as he lays down and starts to roll himself up in the blankets, treating them very much so as he did his nest, which Keith likely knows from him bundling them. "Humans get cold to easy." He laughs through the blankets which come up to just below his mouth.

Lance shakes his head. "Go be warm. I will wait here for my Keith. He smiles then buries himself into the blankets more, curled up tight.

Keith smiles and quickly goes to grab his bag of stuff from the living room.

Pidge sees Keith and hurries over to him. "Are you doing alright? Is Lance doing ok? I'm sorry Keith."

"I'm fine. Lance is wrapped up in blankets," Keith says as he picks up his bag from the floor. "How did the witch know Lance was here?"

"I don't really know." Pidge scratches the back of their head. "I wasn't out here when she showed up. But maybe the necklace?"

Shiro is in Matt's room, waking him up.

"But I don't have work todaaay."Matt whines and tries to just grab Shiro and pull him into bed.

"No. Matt, you have to wake up." Shiro lets Matt grab him but he doesn't let himself get pulled down onto the bed.

"Why? Did something happen?" Suddenly remembering they were harboring a siren, Matt jumps up. "Oh my god! Is Keith ok?!" He is awake now for sure.

"That is a possibility," Keith mumbles. The witch did make it after all.

"We really didn't know, Keith." Pidge looks clearly guilty. They reach out and touch Keith's shoulder. "Can I help?"

Meanwhile, Lance just curls up on himself. He hugs his...legs...and tries to steady his breathing. Keith seems confident he won't be stuck like this...but...what if he wants him to? Lance just lays down and holds himself, not wanting to be sad but seriously struggling.

"At the moment, there isn't much. I'll call for you of we need anything." Keith starts to walk back to Lance.

"Keith is alright. Nothing happened to him." He grabs Matt's shoulders in order to keep him from dashing out of the room.

Matt looks confused. "Then why is it so important for me to get up?" He cuddles into Shiro then groans. "Do I seriously have to make pancakes every Sunday? I thought that was a joke."

Lance has made a nest of the blankets and is cuddled in them when Keith gets back. His hearing isn't as good as it was when he was a siren so bundled in the blankets as he is, Lance doesn't even realize Keith is there.

"Lance," Keith calls as he sets the bag down. He opens it up and digs out a few clothes.

Shiro smiles. Maybe he will tell Matt about Lance later. "I don't joke about pancakes." He nuzzles into Matt's hair. "I could try making them but we both know what happened last time."

"I'm still tiiired." Matt whines before getting up out of bed anyway and sighing. "So you're just lucky I love you. Pancake loving jerk." He teases before hugging Shiro and dragging himself off to the kitchen.

Shiro chuckles as he follows without resistance. "It's because your pancakes are the best."

Lance sits up and smiles at Keith. "I missed you." He says playfully before dragging himself to the the edge of the bed using mainly his arms as controlling his legs is still strange to him. Tilting his head to smile at Keith, Lance touches Keith's neck, running his fingers down it as he did when he was a siren still.

Shivers run down Keith's spine. He hums softly and looks at Lance. "You have to put on clothes, okay?" Keith doesn't know how Lance will react since as a siren, it looked uncomfortable to him.

"Humans wear clothes." Lance seems to understand even though he doesn't sound pleased. He meets Keith's gaze then nuzzles his cheek into Keith's and hums. "Why do humans wear clothes?" His voice is curious as he takes the clothes from Keith and holds them up, trying to decipher how to put them on.

"My pancakes bring all the boys to the kitchen?" Matt sings then notices Pidge doing research in the living room. "And a Pidgeon." He adds before finally reaching the room and starting to mix things up. "And a Lance." Gathering his ingredients, Matt thinks aloud. "Can he even eat pancakes?"

"He..." Lance is human now so he must have a human stomach . "He probably can." Should he tell Matt now or wait till asked?

"It's to protect our skin and keep you warm." He sees Lance struggling with the clothes. He blushes at the thought of helping Lance dress. "Do... You want me to help or..." His blush darkens. "Do you want me to show you an example?"

"How do you know what what to put this on?" He holds the shirt up and pokes at the holes. "I can kind of see where things go since I looked at your clothes but..." Pausing, mainly agreeing because he likes the idea of Keith being close and having an excuse to watch him, Lance scoots up to Keith and looks him over, tilting his head as he use to when he would twitch his ears. "Hm yeah. Show me." He touches Keith's chest with one hand and smiles.

"Cool." Matt laughs a bit. "Should I make his fish shaped?" He asks as he mixes the batter together. Letting it sit - to get fluffy he would say - Matt starts coffee then pins Shiro playfully to the counter. "You seem more calm today. Not so worried maybe?"

Shiro smiles with a light blush. "Keith is safe so I don't need to worry as much."

Matt raises an eyebrow at Shiro then grabs the spoon with batter and puts it in front of Shiro's mouth. "Taste test." He grins playfully.

Keith blushes even more and peels off his wet clothes. He is naked in front of Lance but he needs to go slow in order to show Lance what to do. He picks up one of his underwear and holds it by the waistband to show Lance where to hold it. He then slips it on and waits for Lance to do the same.

Lance grins merrily when Keith blushes and strips. He seems to soak up everything about him in the few nervous minutes Keith is standing in front of him then shakes his head, remembering he's suppose to be learning. Grabbing the underwear, Lance mocks what Keith did then rubs his legs and scratches the skin there. Then he stretches his legs out again and pouts. "I'm short now." He pouts.

"You're not that short. You're average for a human," Keith says as he grabs pants and shows Lance how to put then on. At least he is only half naked now. His blush starts to fade.

Lance holds up the pants then puts them back down and shakes his head. "I already have leg clothes." He scoots up to Keith and wraps his arms around him, pulling Keith in close. Thankful to not have lost his upper strength too much, Lance hugs into Keith. "You're still warmer than me." He says happily.

Shiro blushes more. That grin gets him every time. Shiro opens his mouth and eats the spoonful of batter. He licks his lips as he leans back. He looks away, somewhat trying to hide his blush. "It's good."

Matt puts the spoon down then leans in to kiss Shiro then backs up. "You'd missed a spot or something." He laughs then picks up the bowl and starts pouring the batter into the skillet. "This has been a crazy weekend. I might call off tomorrow...force you to stay in too..." His voice is distracted as he attempts to pour the batter into something of a fish shape, tongue sticking out a bit as he focuses.

Shiro sighed. He didn't want to go to work tomorrow after all that has happened. "That would be nice." He gently leans his head on Matt's shoulder, not interrupting Matt's pancake art.

"Oh. It wasn't going to be a choice." Matt points then turns around to face Shiro. "You are taking the day off tomorrow. " He smiles playfully.

Shiro chuckles. "Hopefully the boss doesn't mind."

Keith blushes and hugs back with one arm. "Most humans wear two leg clothes. This one," Keith points to what Lance is wearing," Is called underwear while this is called pants." He points to his pants.

"That seems silly, but...I am cold and this makes you warm, right?" Lance runs his fingers along Keith's muscles and his smile grows. "It hides so much of your pretty skin that way though." He pouts then nuzzles the side of his face into Keith's neck.

Keith blushes and rests his head on Lance's. "There is also shorts. It covers less of your leg." Keith grabs one the he laid and shows Lance.

"Hm. I like those better." Lance grabs the shorts with one hand while keeping the other wrapped around Keith. He kisses the crook of Keith's neck and laughs a little. Putting the shorts down, Lance moves Keith's hair off of his neck. "Your hair tickles."

"What's he gonna do...fire us?" Matt says dramatically then turns and flips the pancakes then grabs himself a cup of coffee. "Lose half of his manpower overnight? Pfft. I don't think so." He waves a hand, motioning to Shiro for a spoon. Sure, he could just move and get it but he doesn't want to. "Plus, he knows between me and Pidge, he'd be shut down so fast if he fired us." His smile might be a bit too bright thinking about that.

Shiro rolls his eyes as he gets Matt a spoon. "You guys are devils when messed with."

"Guess it's a good thing we like you." Matt teases. "Plus...if I remember right...you like me when I'm a bit devilish." He laughs then moves the pancakes to his serving dish before starting another round. "Should I take these to Keith and his fishboyfriend then cook the rest for us?"

"Sorry?" Keith uses his free hand to keep the hair Lance moved in place. He'll need to get his hair tie later.

Lance shakes his head. "I like it." He laughs then pulls Keith down on top of him. "I wasn't very ticklish before." Using his hand to push the hair back behind Keith's ear again, Lance smiles. "Are you ticklish?"

"No," Keith says quickly. Obviously it's a lie but hopefully Lance doesn't know that.

Lance pouts then wraps his arms around Keith and nuzzles into him with a warm smile. He goes to wrap his tail around Keith before realizing, right...no tail. Then he visibly struggles to figure out how to wrap his legs around Keith and just gets frustrated. "Legs are not flexible!" He huffs then just pouts and lays his head onto the pillow.

"Fishboyfriend?" Shiro repeats, not remember hearing that before. Will Matt still say that after he sees what's happened to Lance?

"Yeah. I mean, they were cuddling and everything. So...fishboyfriend. Sounds a lot less intimidating than sirenboyfriend." Matt laughs then touches his cheek. "He doesn't like the name but I think it's fun. Plus, I keep forgetting his real name." He admits with a shrug then turns back to the stove and pulls Shiro into him, making Shiro the big spoon as Matt flips the pancakes. "L..." He thinks. "Liam? Landon? Something with an L."

Shiro wraps his arms around Matt and nuzzles his face into the Italian's hair. "Lance," he mumbles," He isn't much of a fishboy anymore."

"Lance , right." Matt nods then turns his head to try to look at Shiro. "Wait. What do you mean 'not much of a fishboy'?" Matt spins around and grabs Shiro dramatically. "Did the dust kill him?!"

Keith chuckles and uses a hand to move Lance's leg, showing how to wrap his legs around him. He's also glad that Lance didn't try to tickle him.

Lance watches and hums into Keith's touch. Once his legs were wrapped around Keith, he can't help but give a huge smile. "It feels different but I still like it." Lance licks his lips then tightens his legs around Keith before running a hand through his hair. "I like you a lot, Keith. You're very pretty." His voice is still oddly melodic when he's happy but nothing like it was before.

Keith smiles and blushes more. He loves the feeling of Lance combing through his hair but being so close to Lance is a bit different now that he has a human body. "You're still very pretty."

Lance runs his fingers through Keith's hair, spreading his fingers out a bit and giggling about the feeling of it between his fingers. "It kinda tickles." He says before giggling more. When Keith says he's still pretty, Lance pouts a bit but tries to smile. Instead of saying anything, he kisses him again and hums.

"No, he didn't die. Umm... You should go bring the pancakes to them." Shiro gave Matt a sheepish smile.

"Oh. Darn." Matt perks up. "I mean! I'm glad he isn't dead! Just if he was I could have you know - I'm going to stop. There's no way to make that better." He laughs and slips away from Shiro. "Take the pancakes. Yup. Alright." He grabs silverware and exhales. "I can't believe I honestly just said that out loud."

Shiro didn't want to know what Matt was gonna say. He follows, just wanting to hear Matt's reaction. He won't show his face to Lance yet.

As they kiss, Keith hopes that Lance doesn't feel horrible from his comment. He isn't lying though, Lance is a very pretty human. Still the same dark ocean blue eyes and tanish skin. He melts into the kiss.

Lance keeps his habit of watching Keith as they kiss, enjoying the look of happiness and the slight pink hue that comes to Keith's face. He runs his hands up Keith's back enjoying the feeling of his muscles more and more as they kiss. Not even realizing he's doing it, Lance's toes curl a bit, overwhelmingly happy that Keith still likes him.

Matt pushes open the bathroom door to...nothing. He turns back to Shiro and looks panicky. "Uh! Shiro. Problem. Fishboy is gone." He tries to make sure he doesn't drop the plate of fish shaped pancakes.

"Did you check the bedroom?" Shiro asks, not too surprised. Keith wouldn't stay in the bathroom. It's cold.

Keith hums and leans down more. He loves kissing Lance, it doesn't feel a whole lot different than before.

Lance spins Keith's hair around his fingers, finding himself enjoying the feeling of it a lot. He pulls away for just a second, unaware this his face has a slight blush to it now too. He looks up at Keith with maddeningly infatuated eyes. Just as he moves to kiss Keith again, Matt opens the door.

"But why would fishboy be in-" He freezes when he sees the two on the bed and awkwardly waves the silverware. "Pancakes?" He puts the plate, silverware and little bottle of syrup on the dresser by the door then just slowly turns back to Shiro, looking...almost depressed? "Shiro? Why is fishboy a human?"

"I think this is what the witch meant by taking his song," Shiro answered. He hugs Matt and looks at him worryingly. "Why are you sad?"

Keith flinches away when Matt enters. He is in shock until Matt leaves. He looks at Lance again and asks," You wanna eat?" At least now, Lance should be able to eat human food properly now.

Lance doesn't unwrap his legs or hardly move when Matt comes in, in fact, he seems to grip Keith tighter. Once alone again, Lance smiles at Keith. "I want to be with you. Don't care what we do. Are you hungry?" He says all of it in basically the same breath and tone. Then nuzzles his cheek against Keith and hums.

Keith smiles and nuzzles back. "We should eat. It'll taste better than the shrimp from last night." He wonders how much about human language will he need to teach Lance. He's already going to have to explain each food to Lance.

"Because..." Matt sighs dramatically and waves his hands. "How am I supposed to study a siren...if he isn't a siren anymore?!" He whines into Shiro before hugging back. "Well...let's go make our pancakes."

Shiro sighs. Of course he is sad about the research. "Yeah. I'm hungry." He's sure there is something left of Lance's siren form. A hair or scale somewhere in the bathroom.

Lance tilts his head to look at Keith and sighs happily before remembering the flavor of the shrimp and grimacing. "That was not shrimp." He complains before using his core muscles to sit up, lifting Keith with him. His arms are wrapped around Keith and his fingers are still buried in his hair. "But if you want to eat we can."

"You have to let go so I can go get it." He lets out a huffed laugh. He dresser isn't within reach of the bed.

Lance pouts but lets go finally. He sits back on the bed, trying to get his legs to move how he wants. As he gets them up on the bed and bent under him, Lance mumbles. "Not flexible and two different things to think about. So annoying." His voice is whiny but he assumes Keith isn't close enough to hear.

If Keith did hear, he showed no evidence. He grabbed everything Matt left and moved it to the night stand. He carefully moved the lamp a little to fit the plate. "Do you normally like sweet things?" Keith asked, holding onto the syrup bottle.

"I liked the candy last night!" Lance says with a honeyed smile. He scoots in close to Keith and cuddles close to him. Since becoming human, Lance has been trying to stick closer than usual (if that's actually possible) as his skin seems to be permanently cold.

Keith smiled and also mentally kicked himself. How could he forget that Lance liked candy? He opens the small bottle and pours some over the pancakes. Keith then cuts the pancakes into reasonable bite sizes. Stabbing a piece with a fork, he turns to Lance and holds the food out for him to eat. He is careful not to let the syrup drip.

Lance watched oddly carefully as Keith prepared the food. He wanted to ask what everything was but he also was a bit afraid to annoy Keith. So, he patiently waits until the bite is close to his mouth and takes the food. Having eaten like a siren for some time, Lance hardly chews before he swallows it then makes an odd face when it doesn't go down as quick as fish does. After a second, it's cleared and he smiles brilliantly. If he had a tail, it would surely be wagging again. His smile looks about as cute as it did during those times. "I like this too." He says before nuzzling his nose into Keith's cheek. "You eat too."

Keith smiles and pats Lance's head with his free hand. He stabs another pieces and eats it. He licks his lips before getting another piece for Lance. "You gotta chew them a bit first," Keith says, knowing what the odd face from before was caused by. He has done it several times himself.

Lance watches him eat and finds himself tempted to lick Keith's lips when he does it but holds himself back. When Keith directs him, Lance nods. "They are a bit drier than I'm used to." He takes the bite, not nearly choking himself this time then grabs the fork from Keith. Having watched what Keith was doing, Lance tries to do the same. His hands are a bit less trained and holding the fork seems rather unnatural for him - almost like a toddler trying to be an adult - but Lance manages then smiles as he puts the bite toward Keith.

He is surprised when Lance takes the fork but doesn't stop him. For someone who hasn't used a fork before, Lance is doing well. As the food nears him, Keith can't help but smile bigger than before. His stomach does a flip as he takes the bite.

Lance seems unbelievably proud that he was able to feed Keith. His smile grows almost immeasurably. He moves in and kisses Keith's cheek then grabs another bite for him. "You are my favorite human." He says happily as he focuses on trying to cut a second triangle out. Once he has, Lance moves it in close to Keith and tries to purr but can't make the sound so he pouts again. To Keith, it just looks like he randomly started pouting again though.

Keith sees the expression change and nuzzles into Lance's cheek. "What's wrong?"

"I can't purr." He says sadly. "You're my favorite human and I can't purr for you." Lance whines sadly then nuzzles into him again, burying his face into Keith's neck as if ashamed.

Keith awwed sadly. He can't really show Lance how to do the purring he did when trying to imitate the siren's purring. "Most humans don't actually purr but there is this version," Keith says then says purr with rolling r's. "Or you can try to figure out how to do this." Keith does the purr he did yesterday.

Lance pouts but listens to the sounds. He tilts his head, oddly interested in how he makes the rolling 'r' purr then hears the purr from yesterday and smiles before nuzzling into him. With a breath, Lance tries the rolling r first but, his tongue won't do that. So he ends up just going "rrr" a bit, trying more than once to no avail before getting frustrated and pulling away to hide in his next of blankets without saying anything else.

Keith whines and plops down next to Lance. "It's okay, it takes practice to roll your r's." He pets Lance's head. "We can have a different sound until you can purr."

"But..." Lance looks up at Keith and pulls himself close to his human before nuzzling him. "What sound can I make for you?" He looks down at his legs, silently willing them to agree with him. After a bit, he gets them wrapped around one of Keith's legs. Smiling back up to Keith, Lance cuddles close. "I just want you to know how much I like you."

Keith nuzzles against Lance. "Most humans use body language or cuddling to show how much they like the other person. If you want to still use a noise, we can just hum a lot."

As if in response, Lance hums then cuddles into Keith and kisses his neck a few times. "I just want you to never forget how much I like you." He almost hums the words themselves

He shivers slightly at the kisses. "I'll never forget," Keith says softly then hums. There is still some pancake left but cuddling with Lance in a nest of blankets feels really nice.

Lance almost shivers from excitement when Keith hums back he pushes himself on top of Keith and looks down at him. "I really hope not!" His smile is toothy and happier than it's been since waking up human. Using one hand, he traces Keith's hairline before running it behind his ear again and tracing the shape of his ear with a smile. "I will never forget your feelings either."

Keith shivers more and hums again. He wraps his arms around Lance's neck, playing with the hair on the back of Lance's head.

Lance hugs Keith almost dangerously tight when he hums again. Humming into a kiss, Lance opens his mouth and pulls back to nuzzle into Keith's hand, showing his approval before he hurriedly pushes back into another kiss.

Keith hums into the kiss. His hand feels a bit tingly after being nuzzles. He starts to lightly scratch Lance's scalp as he combs through Lance's hair.

Lance closes his eyes and stops kissing to truly take in the feeling of Keith's hands scratching his scalp. His eyes close into the feeling and he lazily smiles before humming and reaching up to do the same thing to Keith. "Things feel very different as a human."

Keith melts. It feels so nice. Thinking that Lance was referring to getting his scalp scratched, he asks,"Does it feel better as a human?"

"Mmhmm." He rolls back a bit so he's on the bed and pulls for Keith to roll with him. "I'm more sensitive now. My skin just feels different." Putting both hands into Keith's hair and letting his fingers get surrounded by his hair, Lance hums and smiles at Keith.

Keith rolls with Lance. He hums while he remembers about the pancakes again. "I know that we both don't want to move but we should finish the pancake."

"That's a cute name." Lance laughs a bit. "Pan - cake." He nuzzles his cheek against Keith, Lance kisses him quickly then sits up and scoots back toward the edge of the bed once Keith is there. He wraps his arms around the arm Keith isn't using to eat and waits for a bite.

Keith smiles, glad that Lance finds the name of the food cute. He gets another piece and feeds Lance.

Lance eats the rest more carefully, reminding himself to chew the food. He occasionally steals the fork so he can feed Keith, trying to be more confident in his motions with each triangle cut. Once the pancakes are gone, Lance looks around before standing up, still a but uneven on his feet, and carefully stumbling his way to the window. His hands reach out to touch basically every single thing he passes on the way but when he reaches the window, Lance looks outside in awe. He'd never been this far from the lake or ocean. The plants here are so different. And there are so many human things. No matter how hard he tried, Lance wouldn't be able to hide how amazed he is

Keith is proud of Lance, noticing the improvement every time Lance feeds him. When Lance stands up, Keith does as well, ready to catch his boyfriend if needed. He lets Lance gaze out the window in silence for a bit before asking," Do you want to go outside?"

Lance grabs onto Keith, almost nervously. "I'm n-not sure." He admits after a minute of holding his tongue. "I don't know things. And I...humans don't like-" He stops himself and tilts his head. "Humans won't know I'm not human hm." He wraps around Keith's arm then looks back outside. "It all looks so different."

Keith rubs his head against Lance's. "If it makes you feel better, we can walk somewhere most people don't. I know a few places."

"I think I would like that." Lance smiles and steps in close to Keith. "I just want to be with you." He nuzzles Keith a bit, not meaning to, he might tickle Keith's neck with his hair a little.

Keith lets out a small giggle before biting his lip to keep himself quiet. His cheeks flare pink and hopes to God that Lance didn't hear.

Lance's eyes go wide. He likes this sound. Quickly doing it again, Lance waits to see if that is why Keith made such a cute sound. Not being able to hold it in, Keith quickly moves a hand over his mouth and giggles again. Lance smiles huge and keeps doing it, moving Keith closer to the wall, trying to pin him in place. "I thought you said you weren't ticklish!"

"No!" Keith weakly tries to wiggles away while laughing more. He wants to hate this but he also loves it since it's Lance.

Lance feels his heart almost explode as he listens to Keith. "No?" He does it more before pinning him against the wall and trying to tickle other spots with his finger tips. "But you seem so happy!" Keith starts to laugh louder, squealing a bit too as Lance finds his other ticklish spots.

Lance absolutely loves hearing Keith laugh like this. Something about it makes his heart flutter. He can't stop smiling as he watches Keith struggle to get away. "You are such a liar." Lance says teasingly as he tickles Keith more with is fingers before pushing his hair gently against Keith's neck again.

Keith thrashes around more, almost involuntary as he starts scream laughing and squeal laughing. He doesn't even realize how loud he is. Lance is dying, he's started laughing along with him. His heart is racing and his entire world seems to revolve around this bit of laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

Matt had been working on his second coffee when he heard Keith laughing. At first he wasn't sure, but then Keith's laughs got so loud there was no mistaking it. He darts over to Shiro, who had been sitting and watching something on tv. To make sure Shiro can hear Keith, Matt just unplugs the tv before pointing toward the laugh and grabbing Shiro. "Oh my god!" He squeals quietly. "Do you hear that?! Our grumpy Keith is laughing! Like...really laughing." He starts shaking Shiro then. "I can't believe this." He stops and pulls out his phone. "I have to put this in my calendar!"

Shiro freezes and tries to remember when was the last time he has heard Keith laugh like this. Middle school? God... It's been so long. His eyes start to water a bit. Maybe Lance will be good for Keith.

Pidge is sitting in their room in front of their custom made desktop. They smirk and adjust their glasses. Nothing can escape Pidge in their own home.

"Lance! Stop!" Keith yells between laughs. He is leaning against the wall, his legs on the verge of giving out on him.

Lance stops for a second, watching Keith with a smile. He gives him a second to breathe then just smiles deviously as he starts to tickle again, smile on his lips only growing more. "But I like your laugh!" He says before starting to laugh along with Keith.

Keith couldn't stand anymore. His legs give out and he falls down, somehow taking Lance down with him. Lance was already struggling to stay standing before Keith fell. So the instant Keith falls, Lance can't stay standing. However, Lance can't help but be a bit worried when Keith falls over. He stops tickling and brushes Keith's hair from his eyes. "You ok?"

Keith is panting as he nods. "Yeah," he says weakly. Since he was tickled so much, he still feels like he is being tickled. He wiggles around a bit with a smile.

Lance watches him with a warm smile before gently putting a palm on his cheek and moving in to nuzzle the other side with a hum. "I love my Keith's laugh. It's my new favorite sound." He says while nuzzling.

Keith giggles and nuzzles back. "That's a horrible sound to be as your favorite."

"No. A horrible sound is the biotwang whale." Lance corrects before leaning in and rubbing his nose against Keith's nose before putting his hand on the back of Keith's neck, just barely grazing his hairline with his fingers. "Your laugh makes me happier than I've been in a really long time."

"I feel weak," Keith mumbles. "I've never laughed that hard before."

Lance smiles brilliantly. "Then I make you happy too." He manages to knock Keith over the rest of the way over as he tackles him in a huge hug. "I am so glad!" His voice is squealy as he hugs Keith.

Keith giggles again as he hugs Lance back. He still feels the need to laugh. This doesn't feel real, this feels too good to be real.

Lance's smile grows again, so he moves in and kisses Keith's cheek before sitting up and watching him. The look on his face is so soft and loving it's honestly hard to believe that yesterday he was snarling at people.

Keith looks up at Lance lovingly. He doesn't say anything as he cups Lance's cheek and rubs his thumb in a circular motion.

Lance closes his eyes and moves closer to the feeling, His eyes stay closed for a bit, lost in Keith's touch before he just lays down beside Keith and takes a deep breath. "So, do you like being my Keith even while I'm a stupid human?" As soon as the words exit his lips, Lance jumps up. "I mean, I am...not all humans are!" He hopes he hasn't offended.

Keith smiles. "I know what you mean. I will still be your Keith no matter what you turned into." He rolls onto his side and cuddles.

Lance 's whole body seems happy with him saying that. "Don't tell Allura that. She will test you." He says before cuddling back into Keith. Laying his head on the ground, Lance runs his palm over Keith's side, yet again as if it is to memorize all of Keith's muscles by touch. "I will be your Lance for as long as you want me to be." His words are meant to be happy, though it almost sounds depressing to hear 'as long as you want me to be' rather than 'forever' or 'no matter what'

Keith moves closer and nuzzles into Lance's neck. "That will be a very long time, I hope you're ready for that."

"I hope you're ready for that." Lance smiles and is certain his heart stopped for longer than it should have. "Do you...do you think Shiro still hates me?" He hadn't wanted to admit it, but Lance has seen how humans bond. If one doesn't approve, it can cause many issues. Just thinking about Keith leaving him alone against causes his chest to hurt.

"I don't think he still hates you, just cautious." Keith cups Lance's face with both hands. "He'll change his mind eventually. He'll see that you're good."

Lance lightly nuzzles into Keith's hands and smiles a little. "You seem so sure." He sings with eyes closed. "I suppose that works for me then." Sighing, Lance reaches over to the bed and pulls off the only blanket he could reach to wrap himself up. "Being human must mean being cold." He grumbles before laying down again.

Keith chuckles. "Would you like to put on a shirt? It covers your chest and stomach," he says as he points to the body parts on himself.

"I would like to not be cold." Lance replies in a somehow cute grumble. It might have something to do with the fact that the blanket is wrapped around him like a cocoon.

Keith mentally burns this image into his brain. Lance is so cute. He gets up and quickly grabs two shirts. He places one in front of Lance and uses the other one to show Lance how to put it on, at least his way of putting it on.

Lance starts to unravel from the blankets as he watches Keith. He follows suit...he thought...but manages to get messed up anyway through. Somehow he's managed to get the shirt twisted up so he just grumbles and takes the shirt back off before looking at Keith with a pout. "I really suck at everything now." He whines.

"No you don't. This is just new to you." Keith takes the shirt. "Here, hold your arms up." One Lance does so, he slips the shirt on Lance and pats his chest. "There."

Lance is still pouting once the shirt is on but he has to admit, he is warmer. "But now I'm all useless. Who wants a useless human?" He hugs himself and sighs.

Keith scoots closer and hugs Lance. "I do."

Lance whines at that but melts into the hug and feels his heart flutter. "Keith. You make my heart very happy." He says. "Even if I am just a useless human, at least I am your useless human." lance kisses Keith's cheek and hums.

Keith hums back. "You're not useless. All humans have to learn these things too. We aren't born already knowing how to do all this."

"You aren't?" Lance blinks a bit, unable to hide the smile that shows when Keith hums for him. "Humans sure are strange." He mutters quietly then stretches. "Did you want to show me the quiet spots of your town or should we just stay like this?" Lance nuzzles Keith.

"That's all up to you," Keith nuzzles back. "If you want to go out, you gotta put on the shorts." He remembered that Lance hadn't actually put it on earlier.

Lance looks at them and sighs. "I want to learn." He says unconfidently before walking back to the bed and sitting down. Looking over to see how Keith was wearing his pants, Lance turns them the right way and starts to get dressed. It takes longer than most but he gets them in place. Though getting the button in place is not happening. The more he tries, the more red Lance becomes but he really doesn't want to ask Keith for more help.

Keith sees Lance struggling and steps up to the bed. He can tell that Lance doesn't want help so he cups Lance's cheek and asks, "Do you want shorts without a button?" He has a few gym shorts.

Lance pouts. "I just want to figure out how to do this." He grumbles a bit, still trying to get the button into place despite Keith's hands on his cheeks. When he finally lets himself look up, Lance's anger seems to vanish. He moves his hands to Keith's hair and sighs happily. "You are my Keith." He says quietly while staring into Keith's eyes.

"Yeah," Keith says quietly as his hand travels into Lance's hair. He leans his head closer, their foreheads only an inch away from touching.

Lance half closes his eyes before moving in and nuzzling Keith again. "I love my Keith." He sings before wrapping his arms around Keith and burying his face in Keith's hair.

Keith blushes and his heart skips a beat. He wraps his arms around Lance's neck. He wants to purr for Lance, he feels so happy. Not being able to contain in, he purrs like he did yesterday. "I love you too."

Lance wiggles happily, his smile probably big enough to be felt against Keith's hair. "I'm thankful." He says before kissing Keith's neck a bit before nuzzling into it again.

Keith purrs again and nuzzles his cheek against Lance's hair. He is unbelievably happy.

With a huff, Lance pulls away and starts to work on the button again. He nearly get a it on the second try, making him go from an ecstatic face to a grumpy one in a heartbeat. Starting to almost growl, Lance finally gets the button in place then looks at Keith with a proud smile. "Now we can go see the human things outside!"

It's a bit fun watching Lance struggle, the change of expression is amusing. Once Lance look at him, he smiles. "On our way out, we'll put on shoes to protect your feet." He grabs Lance's hand and helps him up.

"Humans sure need a lot of protecting." He sounds almost annoyed by this but when Keith grabs his hand, it all washes away. His smile returns and he happily sighs. "As long as I'm with my Keith, I will be happy."

"You're so cheesy," Keith mumbles as he nuzzles into Lance's neck.

Lance looks at Keith with an odd expression. "No I'm not." He says with his nose scrunched up.

Keith chuckles. "It's an expression. It means... You say a lot of things that couples in movies say." Keith doesn't know the actual definition but that's how he interprets it. He'll probably need to explain movies but he waits for Lance's reaction.

"Movies are the moving pictures you talked about right?" He questions with his head significantly tilted. "Is it a good thing?" Lance can't help but pout a bit as he worries that he's doing something bad.

Keith nuzzles Lance again. "Yeah, It's a good thing." Lance is pretty smart, he didn't think Lance would connect the two. Most stories about a merperson turning human has them completely dumb. He slowly starts leading Lance to the living room.

Lance smiles and nods but as Keith leads him toward where the sounds of other humans are, Lance's body tenses up. He's an odd mix of mad, scared and worried about what they will say so he wraps himself around Keith's arm and almost whines.

Keith does his best to nuzzle into Lance as they move. "It's okay. They won't hurt you," he says as they near the entrance to the living room.

Lance looks to Keith and tries to be more confident. Matt and Shiro are sitting on the couch watching some cheesy alien flick Matt had been dying to watch when Lance and Keith walked through. Something between rage and fear fires toward the two when Lance meets their gaze.

"How is his glare still so intimidating?!" Matt whispers dramatically before reaching toward the table to grab Shiro's wallet. As he grabs money, Matt talks. "If you're going out, treat your fi- Lance to some clothes of his own."

When Matt has stood to hand Keith the money, Lance's eyes managed to get somehow angrier and his grip on Keith tightened.

Keith looks to Lance. He nuzzles into Lance's neck and hums, hoping it would ease Lance. He then reached forward and took the money quickly, so that Lance wouldn't tense up again. Keith spots his phone sitting on the table next to them so he also grabs that. He wonders if Pidge did anything else to his phone.

Lance stays remarkably quiet through the exchange and seems to closely watch every move Keith makes. Once they reach where the shoes are, Lance watches Keith put his on before sitting beside him and cuddling in close. "I-" he starts then takes a deep breath. "I'm really sorry if I get annoying with all the questions." He apologizes while curling his head down, afraid to see the look of sure-to-be annoyance on Keith's face.

Keith cups Lance's face and makes him look up. "Everything is new to you, I get it. Don't be scared to ask, okay?" he asks as he nuzzles his cheek against Lance's.

Lance pouts while his face is cupped. "But it wasn't supposed to be like this." He says sadly ask he hums and nuzzles back. "I was suppose to take care of you and do everything for you. Now I can't do anything right." His pouty face is out of control at this point and his arms are grumpily crossed over his chest. "It isn't fair."

Keith doesn't like not being able to do anything either. He probably would feel something similar to what Lance is feeling now if they stayed in the water cave. "Treat this as... My turn to do everything for you." Keith pulls away so that Lance could see the smile on his face. "Once we figure everything out, it will be your turn to treat me, okay?"

Lance looks at Keith with puppy eyes. "You're sure you don't mind?" He looks at Keith's smile and mocks it a bit before nodding. "I guess that's ok." Pointing to the shoes, Lance looks to his feet. "I have to wear those?"

Keith looks back at the collection of shoes. He pulls a pair of flip flops without the weird tie separating piece closer. "You have to wear something. It hurts to walk bare feet."

Lance nods and lets Keith put on one then awkwardly put a the other one on and wiggled his toes. He laughs a bit as he watches them. "So weird." He says quietly before standing up, getting more steady one his feet each time he stands. "Take me somewhere you like." Lance says once Keith is standing and he has wrapped himself around Keith's arm again.

Keith chuckles. Lance is so clingy, not that he minded though. He pushes the door open and makes sure Lance walks out okay. He watches Lance as they walk across the stepping stones.

Lance looks around in awe the second they are outside. His footing is unsteady, especially with these shoes that don't stay still, so his grip on Keith is even tighter. But he follows Keith and looks around. A million questions go through his mind but he doesn't want to ask them. Even if Keith had told him not was ok. "These rock formations are strange." Lance says referring to the sidewalk. "They're so angular. And flat. What kind of stone are they?"

"It's called cement. It's made of tiny rocks stuck together. It's so people don't have to walk on the grass," Keith says. He stops walking and bends down. He brushes his fingertips across the sidewalk, hoping Lance would do the same. "This is one reason why we need shoes."

Lance does the same, making a slight grimace at the feeling then runs his hands long the grass. "Why not just have grass? It's much softer. Wouldn't it feel nice on your feet?" He looks back to Keith and smiles. It's almost like he can't -not- smile when he looks at Keith.

"Some people still walk on the grass but when it rains, it gets muddy and dirties your shoes." Keith helps Lance stand up again. "There is also a lot of bugs that live in the grass." He leads Lance towards a small tree. Since it was on the other side of the sidewalk, it didn't really belong to anyone and it looks like the fruit is about ripe.

Lance follows behind Keith. "So...its bad to get dirty. Can't you just clean up after?" Lance touches the tree trunk then the leaf and smiles "There are probably more bugs here than by me hm." Lance moves in close as if trying to see if he can find any of the bugs in the tree.

"Most people don't like getting dirty and they would have to walk through the house to get to the bathroom." He watches Lance with a smile. "Humans are weird."

Lance smiles at Keith. "Maybe it's just different for me since I was always in the water anyway." He seems so adorably fascinated by the tree as he finally reaches out to touch the fruit. "These are green. Are they maybe the land equivalent of kelp and sea ferns?" He turns back to Keith again and nuzzles him.

Keith chuckles and nuzzles back. "I guess you can see it that way." He doesn't know much about sea ferns but he knows that seaweed can grow to make like a underwater forest. Or at least that is common in movies. "Do you want to try the fruit? We could also go to the store and buy a whole bunch." He doesn't want to admit that he is a bit worried about a bug living in the naturally grown fruit.

"This part?" Lance grabs the fruit, having noted the time Keith questioned it then pulls it off the tree. "You can eat this?" He brings it up to his face. "It smells sweet." He then tilts his head. "I've heard a human mention a store before. What is it?"

"It's where you buy things. Trade for the things Matt handed to me. We can buy more food and get you clothes." Keith tugs Lance lightly to get them moving again. He looks back to make sure Lance still has the fruit in his hand. "You bite the fruit like this." Keith pretends to have one in his own hand and bites the air.

Lance realizes Keith wants to keep walking so he follows beside him, wrapping one arm around his before watching Keith and mocking the motions. He takes a rather large bite and seems surprised by the texture inside. After remembering to chew this, Lance nuzzles into Keith. "Stores sound convenient. No hunting for everything." He takes another bite then his eyes go wide and he offers it to Keith while still chewing.

Keith leans closer to take a bite. He pulls away as he licks his lips. "Do you like it? It's called an apple. They are very common so it won't be hard to get more."

Lance nods. "I do like it. Though I wasn't expecting it to look so different inside." Seeing Keith lick his lips, Lance leans in and does the same before smiling. "So what kind of place are you taking me?" He asks while turning to look at everything again. Placing the apple in his mouth to have a free hand - because god forbid he unwraps from Keith - Lance touches a sign as they walk by.

Keith's entire face becomes red. His lips feel tingly as he replays what just happened in his head. "We-we're taking the long way to the store," he stutters as he looks down at the sidewalk. He is unable to look at Lance without heating up more. The path they will take to the shopping area goes through a small cluster of trees. They are taking the least walked hiking trail.

Lance sees Keith blush and smiles brilliantly. "Want me to get better at walking?" He bends down and licks Keith again, then hums when he sees his red face. "I'm doing my job well." He sings.

Keith uses his other hand to cover his face. He can't handle this. Why did he tell Lance to make him blush?! That was a horrible idea. His head feels a bit light. The blood is all probably in his face. He is so glad no one is around to see this.

Lance laughs a bit then nuzzles Keith's cheek then kisses his neck. "I like your blushing face. So cute." He sings before wrapping himself around Keith's arm more. "I caught the best human."

Keith peaks at Lance from between his fingers. "There are way better humans than me." He slides his hand so that Lance could see half his face. "And you are so much cuter than I could ever be."

"But you are my human so the other ones don't matter." He smiles brilliantly when he sees Keith's still red face. "Plus I haven't seen them so you could be making it up." He nuzzles Keith then kisses the hand still hiding his face. "Matter of opinion." He grins. "But my opinion is the right one."

Keith's hand tingles were Lance's lips touched. Lance might as well have some sort of paralyzing powder on his lips or something. "Shut up," Keith mumbles softly, feeling too flustered to talk properly. He nuzzles into Lance's shoulder, still hiding his face with his hand.

Lance pouts but stops talking and puts his hand in Keith's hair. Had he done something wrong? Should he have said Keith was right? His eyebrows are furrowed as he tries to figure out what he did wrong but he was told to shut up so that's what he was going to do...but really...what did he do?

Keith realizes that Lance doesn't understand that humans don't always mean what they say. "I didn't actually mean for you to be quiet. When someone is blushing and they tell someone to shut up, it's so that the someone will stop making them blush." He lifts his head and lowers his hand, showing Lance his still red face. "People who blush don't like to blush but it is a good thing."

Lance still looks guilty. If he was still a siren his ears would be drooping for sure. "So, so..." He's slightly confused now. "So it's good to blush but you don't like it?" His face scrunches up and he pouts. "Do I...should I not make you blush then? I don't want to make you not like me." He still looks like a kicked puppy.

Keith never realized before how complicated humans are. "I won't dislike you for making me blush a lot. Some people like to blush but I'm only okay if it's you." He cups Lance's cheek and rubs it gently.

Lance closes his eyes and hums into Keith's touch. "You promise?" He asks, still not convinced as he nuzzles into the feeling of Keith's hand. Its blatantly apparent how much Lance adores Keith's touch. He doesn't try to hide it in the slightest.

Keith softly smiles at Lance. "I promise."

"I'll remember that." Lance says almost hauntingly as he wraps in close to Keith and nuzzles into his neck, planting a few gentle kisses where his lips can reach. "I like you blushing almost as much as I like you laughing." He says with a devious tone.

Keith blushes more and tenses, trying to block off the way to his ticklish spots. Being tickled outside is even worse than being tickled in front of Matt and Pidge.

Lance laughs when he notices Keith tense up but he tries to trail his fingers to some of the ticklish spots anyway. "Awww don't hide!" He laughs a bit and looks around, oddly upset there isn't a good place to pin Keith this time.

Keith wiggles, trying to avoid Lance's fingers while still not moving away. He pouts childishly and hopes Lance would give up.

Seeing Keith pout, Lance stops and laughs before wrapping both arms around one of Keith's again. "Ok. On to the store then!" Lance smiles then nearly trips over his feet, using Keith to stay standing.

Keith smiles and continues to walk towards the cluster of trees. "Do you know what colors you like?" Keith asks, trying to imagine Lance in other colors than blue and white.

"I haven't really found a color I don't like." Lance admits. "Though I've always been biased toward blue." He smiles at Keith. "Especially...the blue...well, the color of my tail when we met since you liked it." He doesn't mean to pout but he can't help it when he thinks about his tail. "How about you?" He chirps, lifting his spirits back up

"I like dark colors. Though I do love how light colors look on you." He remembers how much Matt gave him and how much he has already. "If you want, you can pick out an outfit for me," Keith offered. All he brought was his usual clothes, none of the cool looking ones.

Lance looks at Keith and smiles. "I like you best with no clothes." He shrugs. "I don't know much about human clothes stuff." He cuddles close. "But you can pick things for me and I can...try to find things?"

Keith blushes and looks away, remembering the minute or two he was naked in front of Lance. "There is a changing room in clothes stores for you to try on the clothes," he says as they finally enter the mini woods.

Lance nods to show that he is listening but is a bit distracted by everything he sees. Everything looks so much bigger outside of the water. And there are so many colors here compared to his lake. When he sees a patch of flowers, lance drags Keith over to them and carefully kneels down to look them over. "These are even prettier than water lilies." He smiles back at Keith as he runs his fingers along them. "The human world is already incredible." He laughs a bit.

His eyes go wide when Lance starts tugging him to the side. When he notices the patch of flowers, he chuckles. He personally loves water lilies so he can't agree with Lance there. Keith picks a flower and gently places it behind Lance's ear. "I don't know how to make a flower crown so this is the best I can do."

Lance watches Keith then giggles a little when he feels the flower tickle behind his ear. "It's been a long time since I tried making a crown." Lance says before he grabs Keith and kisses his nose. "But a lot of the merfolk use to make them for human friends. So a long time ago one taught me. I could try to teach you?" Motioning to the flower, Lance smiles. "Does it look good?"

Keith is surprised that merpeople know how to make flower crowns. He thought it was just a human thing. "It looks great but uh... We don't have to make the flower crowns now. They will probably fall off while we are in the store." He just doesn't want to mess one up. He isn't the best when it comes to crafts that require a gentle touch.

"Oh. Maybe after the store then." Lance smiles and leans in to kiss Keith. Truth be told, he may have some issues keeping his hands and lips to himself. Putting one hand in Keith's hair, lance uses one arm to stay propped up as he kisses Keith, waiting for him to pull away again.

Keith melts into the kiss. He only pulls away when he can feel his heartbeat pounding against hid rib cage. Lance is too intoxicating. "Should... Should we get going?" he asks softly. He is a bit worried they will lose track of time if they stay here kissing.

Lance hums and smiles. "If you want to." He says before running his hand along the grass. "Though I'm not opposed to staying here with you either." He looks around and grins. "It's not so quiet here and the birds are singing. I like it." Moving in to nuzzle Keith again, Lance adds. "And I'm with you. So I'm happy."

Keith melts and nuzzles back. "This could be our special spot. It's not too far away from the house so we could come here all the time."

"I would like that." Lance hums then puts his hand in Keith's hair again, looking into the eyes he has obviously become addicted to, and kisses Keith's jaw before trying like he'll to stand up on his own. Its shaky, but he does it. Trying to do as Keith has more than once for him, Lance holds a hand out and smiles. "I have a special spot with my Keith." Lance sings a little.

Keith huffs as he smiles. He takes Lance hand and stand up, not wanting to pull Lance down. "Yeah. Our special spot." Keith nuzzles into Lance one more time before walking the rest of the way to the shopping area. Luckily for them, it wasn't that busy today and one of the first few stores is a clothing store.

Lance looks around and is absolutely astounded by the wide array of lights and colors. He wants to dart from one thing to the next but his legs won't let him so he just excitedly squeezes Keith's arm. "This is so cool!" He says while following Keith inside. He runs his hands along a couple of fabrics once inside but doesn't pull away from Keith at all.

"Anything that catches your eyes?" He asks as he continues to slowly walk around.

Lance looks around, each thing he touches is some sort of flowing fabric. One is a pair of shimmering mermaid leggings that he admires longer than he should. Finally, he hands Keith a couple items. None of them from the "men's section" and all of them some shade of light blue, save for the multi colored mermaid leggings. "I like blue." He says with a shrug.

When Keith looks down at the bundle of clothes in his hands, the things he is questioning is what section they came from, not the color. None of the clothes are too girly so there is no worries about people mistaking Lance as a female. "Let's go to the changing room," Keith says as he leads the way. Does he need to go into the stall with Lance to help him? Probably. They enter a free stall and Keith hangs all the clothes on the hook.

Lance steps in and jumps a little when he sees the mirror. Stepping forward, Lance touches it then touches himself. He runs his fingers over the reflection then matches it with himself. Staring in the mirror for a second, Lance gets lots before turning to Keith. "Is that really what I look like now?"

Keith turns to see Lance playing with the mirror. "Yes?" Does Lance not know about mirrors or is he just surprised about his looks? Probably the latter.

He looks himself over and sighs before turning back to Keith. "A-at least I have pretty human eyes?" Trying like hell not to sound sad, Lance comments on the positive he saw then look to the clothes. "Maybe those will help?"

Keith sighs and steps closer to Lance. He cups Lance's face and gets really close. "You are very pretty overall. It's not just your eyes." He kisses Lance softly. "Your skin is smooth and clear. You're tall and handsome. A little on the skinny side. If we were to go out in a crowd, all the lady's eyes would be on you."

Lance hums into the kiss and wraps his arms around Keith. He smiles warmly before kissing Keith once he's done talking. "I don't care about anyone's eyes but yours." He says quietly then traces his fingertips along Keith's eyebrows. "My personal night sky eyes." He says with a small laugh.

Keith hums softly. "Then don't worry about how you look. Your personal night sky is always watching you."

Lance hums happily at this before kissing Keith once more and attempting to undress. "Help?" He asks as he can't figure out the best way to take the shirt off

Keith chuckles and just takes it off for him. He can show Lance how to take it off properly later. He won't admit there are times he gets somewhat stuck in his shirts too. He twists around to grab the first thing on the hook and hand it to Lance. "This feels really soft."

"Its part of why I picked it out!" Lance says playfully then takes it and looks it over before looking Keith over and trying to put it on himself. Managing it, Lance lets out a small laugh. "I did it." He giggles. "What goes best with this?" He runs his hands along the fabric, happy with its texture

Keith has no sense of fashion when it comes to these types of clothes. Lance had only grabbed two or three articles of clothing for his lower half. He carefully gets them all and holds them for Lance to see.

He looks them over, grabbing the mermaid leggings and a pair of shredded, dark blue shorts. "Two leg ones right?" He asks before looking back at Keith with a smile. "Will you like them?" He looks at him with big, hopeful eyes

Keith mentally kicks himself. Lance still doesn't understand underwear. "Two leg ones is because of your underwear. These are the ones that go over them," Keith tried to explain. "But either one would look amazing on you."

Lance nods then puts the shorts down. He leans against the wall,trying to push the button away from his old pants and snarling a but as he remembers how much he hates the stupid thing. "Can't these be easier to put on if humans insist on wearing them?!" He growls a bit.

"No because humans hate themselves," Keith mumbles. "Do you want help this time?"

"Humans should stop that." Lance says grumpily. He looks at Keith, pouting angrily. "No." Then he huffs. "Maybe. I don't know." He looks off and grumbles. "I hate pants."

Keith chuckles and helps Lance. He is a bit hesitant since he knows where his hands will be compared to Lance. He unbuttons the shorts as quickly as he can.

Lance shivers, oddly excited by Keith being close like that. He furrowed his eyebrows and shakes his head then grabs Keith's chin and pulls him close. The feeling in his stomach is almost electric...why? He feels...odd but kissing Keith like this feels really good.

Keith kisses back. He is trying to keep in mind the time they spend in here but Lance makes him forget everything. His head starts to spin so he pulls away.

More desperate than usual, Lance follows Keith when he pulls away and kisses him again, humming into the kiss this hand finds Keith's hair and the other finds the wall, using it to balance his unsteady feet. He feels his heart racing and his breaths feel short. Is this normal?

Keith hums back. He knows they they shouldn't be doing this here but he can't seem to push Lance away. His legs are becoming weak as he grips onto Lance's shoulder.

Lance gasps as he feels his body doing...odd things. He finally stops kissing Keith long enough to speak. "I feel...very strange right now." He says then pushes his body closer to Keith's and nuzzles into his neck before kissing it. In this closeness, Keith can probably feel part of what Lance means.

Keith's eyes widen. "No!" He pushes Lance away. His heart is pounding and all he wants to do is curl up in the corner. His breathing is quick and shallow. He forces himself not to get lost in his thoughts. Lance doesn't understand, everything is okay. "Just... Just hold the shorts up and see how it looks." He is leaning against the wall as he tries to regulate his breathing.

Lance's eyes go wide and he steps back, giving Keith the room he needs. He holds his chest, wanting to help but being a bit afraid to come near him again. "O-ok." Lance puts on the leggings, watching Keith with worried eyes then decides to put the shorts on too as the leggings had an odd bulge in them. Carefully, he kneels beside Keith, so worried He's almost in tears. "Wh-what did I do? I didn't mean to." He nervously puts a hand on Keith's arm and pout. "I'm really sorry."

He doesn't push Lance's hand away despite his instincts telling him to do so. "It's..." Keith is still trying to catch his breath. "It's fine. You won't get it." He leans a little bit towards Lance, fear still clenching at his guts. "It's not your fault. Just finish looking through the clothes."

"I don't care about that anymore." Lance says honestly. He sits in front of Keith with a sad look on his face. "I want to help. Would, would it be better if we went back outside? You were ok there." Lance bows his head. "I'm really sorry Keith. I didn't mean to." He doesn't move to close the space between them, somehow able to sense Keith just needs the room but he wants to. "I won't do...I won't do whatever I did again."

"You... You didn't do anything. It wasn't you," He mumbles to himself, calming himself down," You didn't rape me." He hugs Lance tight and pushes down his fear. Lance is a merperson, he probably doesn't understand rape. He has yet to do anything against Keith's will. He even keeps quiet when told to. "Let's... Let's go pay for these." Keith doesn't want to stay in here any longer. With the state he is in, the cashier probably won't bother questioning them. Keith grabs Lance's clothes and with wobbly legs, start walking to the desk.

Lance looks painfully concerned. Without hesitation, he hugs back, rubbing Keith's head with one hand. He hadn't heard that word before. But he wants to know what it is so he can help. However, thinking of asking Keith while he looks like this seems like an awful idea. Lance does his best to help Keith walk, but being awkward on his own feet too, the best he can do is lead him.

Lance swallows hard as they exit the store. He doesn't know what to do. "I'm still sorry. Can I help?" He asks quietly.

"Let's just... Go home, okay?" Keith wants to curl up in a bed. "We'll come back out tomorrow." He tries to smile at Lance. He feels bad for cutting their little adventure short.

"Whatever you need, Keith." Lance is far too worried to care about anything else they might have planned that day. All he wants it for Keith to stop looking like that. He leads Keith home.


	8. Chapter 8

Lance sadly watches as Keith wanders toward the bedroom. Not knowing what to do. He stands awkwardly in the hallway.

Shiro sees Keith walk by. As he goes to follow Keith, he notices Lance just standing there. Keith usually likes to be alone until he is ready to talk so trying to ask him what happened isn't going to work. At least asking Lance, he might get an immediate answer. "What happened?" Shiro asks Lance hesitantly, not sure how Lance would react to him.

Lance hears shiro and takes a deep breath. For the first time, When lance faces him, he isn't snarling or glaring. He's far too worried for that.

"First off, I don't like you and I don't know it that will change soon, but," lance looks down nervously and hugs himself pitifully. "But you care about Keith and he trusts you. So," he still doesn't look up, trying to decide where to start since he really didn't know what happened. "What does rape mean?"

Shiro wants to yell at Lance. Why would Lance be asking such a thing? What did he do to Keith?! He only glares at Lances as he forces himself to calm down. Keith was only having an attack. Lance wouldn't be asking if he had actually did something, especially if Lance is asking him of all people. "Rape..." Memories of when he learned about what happened to Keith flashed before him. "Is nonconsensual sex." He isn't sure how much Lance knows so he chose to say the shortest definition. All creatures know sex.

Lance looks up at Shiro horrified. "Someone did..." He looks back to the room and the grip on his arms tighten. "Is there...anything I can do to help?" He hugs himself. "He looked so hurt." Lance looks down sadly.

Seeing that reaction calmed Shiro down. Lance really does care for Keith. "He just needs a little bit of space. He'll call for you when he is ready for the company." He goes to pat Lance's head but stops when he realizes what he is about to do. Lance probably doesn't want to be touched. "He is just having a form of... panic attack." It's weird having to explain since he isn't sure what Lance knows and doesn't know.

"But...can I do anything?" He looks up to Shiro and takes a deep breath. " I know panic attacks. I have them every time a boat is close. And Silvy use to have them in open water after being attacked by a shark. I helped Silvy by checking waters for her and being sure to circle her." He hugs himself tighter. "But I don't know how to help Keith. I don't want to see him like that again."

"That's..." He remembers how scared Lance was on the boat. Who was Silvy? "That's something you need to talk to Keith about." Everyone who knows just avoids the topic. When it's just between him and Keith, he starts telling bad jokes to calm him down.

Lance just nods then sits down outside the room, hugging himself tighter. "Is there anything I can avoid? I don't know how any of this works. It's not a fear I can exactly relate to."

"Only Keith can answer that. I'm sure he'll be okay to tell you once he calms down."

Lance sighs and nods. "Shiro?" He says nervously, not really looking at him when he speaks.

"Yes?" Shiro asks. He looks down at Lance with caring eyes.

"I know you don't like me. And I understand why. So...thank you for listening. And..." He finally looks up with something like puppy eyes. "I don't hate you."

Shiro's heart melts. He sits down to be eye to eye with Lance. "I don't hate you either. Thank you for taking care of Keith."

"I'm not taking care of him." He says grumpily. "I can hardly take care of myself right now. But...you're welcome?" Lance sighs then looks back toward the door. "I'm glad you don't hate me. I think it would be hard for him if we didn't at least try to get along."

"You make Keith the happiest he has ever been," Shiro says. He smiles at Lance.

"Lance," Keith weakly calls from inside. He could kind of hear them from inside, especially the last bit. It warms Shiro's heart and he is finally ready to talk to Lance about why he reacted like that.

"I do?" Lance can't help but smile at that. He perks up when he hears Keith and smiles brilliantly. Staring at Shiro for a second, Lance nods then darts inside. Not sure how to act still, Lance keeps his distance and takes a seat on the edge of the bed, looking at him with big, worried eyes.

Keith is facing Lance and raises an arm to show that he wants to cuddle.

Lance quickly slides over to Keith and holds him tight. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." He whispers then kisses Keith's forehead.

"It's okay," Keith mumbles. "It happened when I was a child. A foster father came into my room and grabbed me." He nuzzles into Lance. "It's really not your fault. We were in a small room and I felt... you so I was suddenly brought back to that time."

Lance cuddles into him and pouts. "That's...horrible. I'm sorry." Lance says sadly before running his hand through Keith's hair. "Is there anything I can do...or- or not do to make it better?"

Keith hums in thought. "Maybe hum or sing to me?" He rubs his hand across Lance's cheek. "That way even in panic, I will know it's you." He knows that Lance didn't mean to press up against him in the changing room. When Lance was a siren, there wasn't a dick that stuck out permanently so he isn't used to it. Should he explain it now?

"I can do that." Lance cuddles him close. "Do you want me to sing now?" He kisses his forehead. "I mean, I don't know much as far as human songs go, but...I could see if it helps?" Placing one hand over Keith's he nuzzles him and smiles.

Keith smiles back. "That would be nice but do you mind answering a question first?"

"Of course." Lance smiles then hugs Keith tight. "Anything you want to know I will tell you. You're my human. That's how it works, remember?"

"Why are you so scared of boats?" Keith asks softly. He instantly nuzzles into Lance, feeling bad for bringing it up.

Lance tenses up a bit and curls into Keith. He swallows hard and tries not to panic. "I..." Taking a deep breath as it's only fair to answer. "When I was...younger...back when I lived in the ocean." He realizes by saying this, he was going to also reveal the truth to how he ended up in the lake but...whatever. "I was banished for my temper. I hated humans once upon a time." He laughs a bit then sighs. "But I'd never explored much on my own. I use to swim with schools of fish a lot. They were musical in their own way and it was fun." Going silent for a minute, Lance grips Keith. "There was a fishing boat that a bunch of us got caught in. And, fish can't breathe outside of the water. But my song wasn't loud enough to be heard. I just in the middle of this...this...there were so many of them just...dying around me and I couldn't do anything. Once I could be heard I demanded to be returned to the water but I never forgot...that silence." He cuddles into Keith.

Keith nuzzles into Lance. That must have been so horrible. "I'm sorry for asking," he whispers before purring, hoping it would help Lance.

Lance smiles and hums into Keith. "In a roundabout way, it led me to you so...I guess it was worth it in the end." He carefully wraps his legs around one of Keith's and kisses his forehead. "You know I'll never do anything you don't want, right?"

Keith smiles. "I know." He nuzzles into Lance's neck, feeling so calm compared to earlier. "Would you like me to sing to you as well?"

"No one has ever sang for me before." Lance says with a bashful smile. "Intimidation usually." He laughs then runs his hand over Keith's cheek before humming, "I would love it."

Keith blushes lightly. He nuzzles into Lance one more time, gathering up his courage. He doesn't really like singing in front of people without the song playing but for Lance, we will try. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath and starts singing one of his favorite songs. He knows the lyrics by heart.

Lance really hadn't even been sung to before. He'd heard others sing, but only by proxy. He watches Keith, though nervous, prep for a song. The words leave his lips and Lance finds himself smiling like an idiot. This boy is singing for him. His heart flutters wildly despite wishing he could look into Keith's eyes. Every note makes Lance shiver and he has to cover his mouth to keep from wanting to make...some sound of appreciation. Even his stomach seems to spin, listening to Keith sing for him.

Once Keith finishes he slowly opens his eyes. He feels nervous as he looks at Lance's face. Personally, he doesn't think he sounded all that great. He hopes he didn't ruin Lance's hearing.

Lance is frozen, mouth covered and eyes watering. He didn't cry, but he wanted to. He was sung to by his human. But, he was conflicted. Keith had just been afraid of his closeness a bit ago, he didn't want to overwhelm him but he also wanted to smother him in kisses to show how much he appreciated it. So instead, he's voiceless and looking at Keith with such unfiltered love that he's fairly certain it could be caught in a jar. "It was beautiful." He forces at last, voice shaky with emotion.

He is shocked my Lance's reaction. He didn't realize how much singing really meant to Lance. "Th-thank you," Keith mumbles and plants a small kiss on Lance's cheek. He is also surprised that Lance has yet to cling onto him.

"No. Thank you. Really." Lance touches Keith's face gently before leaning in to kiss him, hoping his feelings might be shown through the simple motion. He pulls back, wanting nothing more than to envelope every last fiber of Keith, but also wanting to respect whatever space Keith wants. "I'm so lucky." He laughs a bit.

Keith hums into the kiss. "I'm surprised you aren't clinging onto me. I won't have a panic attack this time." He nuzzles Lance again. "I'll explain what triggers me later, okay?"

"You...you're sure?" Lance feels his heart nearly exploding. He waits for Keith to nod and then he grabs him and holds him tighter than ever before. "Thank you for that. I loved it. I love you." His words come out in a rush and he nuzzles him. "You are so amazing."

Keith blush darkens with every word. "It couldn't have been that amazing," Keith mumbles as he nuzzles back. "But I love you too."

"It was." Lance shakes his head and kisses Keith's neck. "I loved every note of it." He pulls back to look at Keith. "It meant more to me than you know." His smile is warm as he rubs Keith's cheek with his hand. "You are the best human ever." He giggles.

Keith's heart skips a beat and his stomach does a flip. "Only for you." He leans into Lance's hand as he gazes up at Lance lovingly.

"I only need you to be Keith. No one else even matters." He smiles brilliantly then leans down and kisses him again, other arm wrapping behind Keith.

Keith kisses back, wrapping both arms around Lance's neck. He tangles his legs with Lance's. It feels so nice to be like this with Lance.

Lance's stomach does flips. More than he knows how to voice, he loves this. His hand trails down Keith's back then over his hip, just enjoying being allowed to touch him. He tries not to push against Keith as that seemed to have been what sparked his fear, but the closeness they do share makes him warm.

Keith pulls away to breath. "How are you so intoxicating?" Keith asks softly. A hand slides down to cup Lance's cheek.

"Well...I was a siren." Lance looks guilty for a second then smiles. "Or you just like me." He teases before cuddling into Keith's hand and looking into his eyes as if nothing else mattered.

"I definitely more than just like you," Keith smirks and kisses Lance again.

Lance hums and eagerly kisses back. His hands find the back of Keith's head again as they bury themselves in his hair and gently scratch the scalp beneath. Why does kissing feel so different as a human? Shaking away the thought, Lance tries to ignore his jittery stomach as he slightly deepens the kiss.

Keith's hand travel down Lance's back. He shifts a bit which accidentally make his body brush against Lance's. He could feel Lance's bulge. One hand travels down and very light cups Lance.

Lance hums into the feeling of Keith's hand down his back. When their bodies touch, Lance feels the strange electricity he'd been feeling earlier, then before his brain can even start to consider what it might be, Keith is touching him and it makes him gasp for air, not use to being so sensitive. "Keith?"

"I felt this in the changing room and I wasn't ready for it. Our dicks stay on the outside and it's easy to rile human up."

Lance tries to listen but his ears are ringing. "I knew they were like that, my last human was a male. But I thought it was like...a decision you make." He blinks a few times, still not able to fathom how sensitive the human body is.

Keith rubs Lance a little bit more before pulling his hand away. "We don't have that much control over our body."

"I just..." Lance rubs his feet a bit against the blankets then almost whines when Keith pulls away. "I never really felt like this as a siren." He opens his eyes again then looks at Keith with eyes half open. "Humans really are way more sensitive."

"Humans are very different." He brushes his fingers around the area, teasing Lance since he loves the expression it gets him. "Once your like that, most humans have the urge to do something called jacking off. It's the quickest way to make it soft again."

Lance is trying to keep his eyes open and listen to Keith but clearly struggling. He closes his eyes at the tease and whines a little before shaking his head and looking back at Keith. After blinking a few times, he can finally speak. "It won't just go away?"

"Most of the time, no. You also have to take off all the leg clothing in order to do it properly." He rubs over the bulge a few times.

Lance closes his eyes at the touch again and visibly shivers. He looks back to Keith, looking guilty. "But...I wasn't trying to-" dizzy from sensitivity, Lance closes his eyes again. "I'm sorry. It, I didn't mean to?"

"You don't have to apologize. Would you like help taking your clothes off?" He loves seeing Lance like this. He is in control.

Lance whines a little and nods. He looks to Keith and feels his breath quickening despite doing nothing. When he meets Keith's eyes he finds him getting mildly dizzier. "The look on your face.." He breathes. "Holy shit." His eyes try to focus on him then.

"What about my face?" Keith asks as he starts to pull Lance's leg clothing off one by one.

Lance feels his whole body tingling with an odd sort of electricity, especially as Keith starts to undress him. "You're expression is...incredibly sexy." Lance smiles, angling his head to look at Keith for a moment with hooded eyes. "How on Earth do humans deal with this." He rubs his hands into the blankets, trying to ground himself a bit...it doesn't really work.

"We don't." He doesn't bother taking off Lance shirt before starting to rubs Lance's bare member. Watching Lance's reaction, he can feel himself starting to harden.

Lance instantly whines at the touch, finding it even more overwhelming without anything in the way. His toes dig into the blankets and his eyes roll back. "Keith. This is...seriously dizzying." His voice is a sensual moan when he speaks.

Keith quickly flips them over, now he was on top. He continues to pump Lance. "Does it feel good?" Keith smirks.

Lance feels his voice catch when Keith moves on top of him. He blindly reaches for some part of Keith, just wanting to touch him and finds his leg. Gasping when he opens his mouth, Lance groans as he moves his legs a bit, feeling almost overwhelmed. "Yes." He pushes out at last before opening his eyes, irises rolling forward. Blinking a few times, Lance whines, "Kiss me?"

Keith hums as he leans down and kisses Lance. He slides to the side a little so he could keep pumping Lance's dick. His pants are starting to really feel tight but he is more focused on Lance to bother taking care of himself.

Lance hums into the kiss but its broken up by frantic moans. He feels oddly electric and his mind is blank so he collapses back into the bed, not able to focus on kissing right now. "Keith this- Keith." He just whines his name a second time rather than trying to make sense of his thoughts. Not realizing he's doing it, Lance thrusts his hips a bit as he gets closer to climaxing. His head is light and he swears he feels like he's floating as his moans get a bit louder.

So into the moment, Keith kisses down to Lance's neck. He kisses and nibbles on the skin as he pumps Lance faster. He loves Lance's moans.

Lance pushes his body into the bed shoving his heels into the blankets and moaning louder when Keith pays attention to his neck. Grabbing a handful of Keith's hair, Lance loses any grips on reality he still had and just starts to moans Keith's name before kissing Keith again, keeping his grip on the handful of black hair. Getting close but not knowing that's what it means, Lance feels himself filling up and the build up makes him loudly groan Keith's name.

Keith pulls away from the kiss to see Lance's expression. "You cumming?" Keith asks with a husky voice. He can feel Lance pulsing in his hand.

Lance turns his head to the side and thinks about it before nodding and moaning needily as his body is pushed over the brink. "Keith!" He shouts quietly as he finally cums.

Just before Lance climaxed, he made sure that Lance ejaculated away from his shirt. It would be a shame to dirty Lance's new shirt so soon. Keith hums as he continues to pump Lance all the way through his climax. Once Lance is gone, he releases Lance's dick and looks at his hand. White cum is smeared all over his hand.

Lance gasps for air then looks up at Keith and tries to speak but can't quite find the words so he just leans in and kisses him. He hadn't noticed the mess since it wasn't usually a concern to him. After the kiss he nuzzles and hums into Keith's cheek before collapsing tiredly back onto the bed.

Keith hums back while he combs his hand through Lance's hair. "Human get tired afterward so go ahead and take a nap," he says softly, nuzzling into Lance's hair.

Lance hums and quietly calls Keith's name, still a bit breathless. "I...I love you Keith." He says happily before struggling to wrap himself around Keith's arm and scooting into Keith. "Thank you for that."

"You don't have to thank me," Keith chuckles. "Get a good rest, okay?" He knows that the one night in the bathtub was probably very uncomfortable for Lance. He probably didn't get a good night's rest. "I love you," he whispers when he knows Lance is barley awake.

"Ok." Lance smiles as he falls asleep, still wrapped tight to Keith as he falls asleep.

Keith smiles as he watches Lance sleep. It's so different seeing him as a human. Keith nuzzles into Lance's hair and relaxes.

In his sleep, Lance hums before curling up into fetal position and burying his face into the pillow.


	9. Chapter 9

There is a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Shiro says, getting up from his position next to Matt. He opens the door and finds Hunk standing there holding a couple of trays of prepped food. "Hello Hunk," Shiro says as he opens the door more and steps to the side.

Hunk smiles and walks in, seeing Matt and Pidge sitting on the couch. "Hope you guys are hungry!" He laughs before looking around. "Keith not here or is he hiding in his room?"

Not looking up from whatever Pidge was tinkering with," He's in his room with a boyfriend."

"I can go check on them," Shiro offered.

"Oooo Keith got a boyfriend!" Hunk laughs excitedly as he heads into the kitchen and starts up the oven before even asking. Waving a hand, Hunk teases. "Is that a good idea?" He knows Shiro is likely already leery of the kid, so mentioning something like that will likely make Shiro throw something at him, but he can't help it.

Matt is glued to the screen, as it Pidge, as they watch a documentary on some strange creature supposedly living in the Himalayan mountains. "Yeah he has legs now remember?" Matt says to which Hunk just raises an eyebrow and shakes his head, assuming it's about the show.

"I'll go check up on them," Shiro decides as he gets up. He goes to the room and gently knocks on the door. Inside the room, Keith turns his head towards the door. It's probably Shiro since there is silence after the knock. Slowly and carefully, he pulls himself out of Lance's grip and slips out of the room.

"Hey Shiro."

"Where's Lance?"

"Taking a nap," Keith answers.

Shiro nods and says," Hunk's here if you wanna come down."

"I'll be there in a sec." Keith slips back into the room and cleans up before placing a blanket over Lance. He watches Lance sleep for another minute or two before joining everyone else in the living room. "Hey Hunk."

"So Keith got a boyfriend? New thing or am I just that outta the loop?" Hunk asks once shiro has left.

"Its pretty new." Matt says, still barely looking away from the tv.

"How'd it start? Oh man I'm so excited." Hunk says playfully.

"You might say," pidge turns to Matt with a smirk. "It all started with a song." They say dramatically.

"Oh so he can sing. Wait, no crazy diet restrictions right?"

"Pretty sure he will eat whatever." Matt thinks back then shrugs. "Yours will be better than a dinner of chips and candy."

"Well he can eat anything now that we don't have to worry about taurine poisoning. I still can't believe no one thought to-" Pidge stops when Keith walks in.

"Man of the hour!" Hunk says with a huge smile before turning back to put the lid on the pot of...whatever he was making. After that, he walks over and elbows Keith. "I hear congrats are in order?"

Shiro takes his seat next to Matt. Keith looks at Hunk confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You got a boyfriend?" Hunk says with a half shrug. "Big day. Especially after watching you shoot others down without a thought." He adds with a laugh.

"Oh man! Like the guy Keith said would just be a waste of time?!" Matt laughs, suddenly paying attention. Yeah, commercials.

"Yeah yeah. Or the one who asked him to...what was it? Go to some restaurant and Keith just responded 'no that place sucks' and like left the dude baffled!"

"I personally think the best was the guy who asked him out and Keith didn't even realize it until like three hours later when he just blurted out," Pidge laughs as they relay the story, "OH MY GOD HE WAS ASKING ME ON A DATE!"

Keith blushed. "Oh my god guys, stop," he grumbled.

Shiro laughed and added," There was one time it took him a day to realize."

"Shiro!"

Hunk just laughs before drying off his hands and walking up to Keith. "I think what were getting at is," Hunk says with a smile. "At least this guy must be as blunt as you." He laughs then puts his arm over Keith's shoulders. "But seriously. Congrats buddy." Looking around to see where said boyfriend is, Hunk turns back to Keith. "Where is he. By the way?"

"He is in a room taking a nap," Keith answers. "We walked to town and back and he isn't used to walking that much."

"You always have been one to walk like...ten miles and think its nothing." Hunk responds before dragging Keith into the kitchen as he cooks. "Sooooo. Tell me about him! He's gotta be something if you are dating him." He teases a little.

"Oh he's something alright." Matt responds before Shiro elbows him. Which makes Matt return the favor and quickly results in a playfight.

"Well... He's cute and clingy. He also doesn't understand a lot of social cues." Keith blushes at just remembering all the expressions Lance has shown him.

Hunk covers his mouth seeing Keith blush. "Awwwww. You've got it bad!"

Lance, meanwhile, had finally woke up again, missing the warmth from Keith. When he looks around and doesn't see him, Lance drags himself out of bed. After reminding himself that humans wear leg clothes, he gets dressed and awkwardly stumbles out of the room. His legs felt even weirder than usual. "Keith?" He calls sleepily.

Keith doesn't hear Lance calling for him as he yells at Hunk," Shut up!" His face only getting redder.

"Awww look he's even more red!" Hunk messes with Keith's cheeks and hair while laughing. The holt sibs are both laughing, which of course gives Shiro the even better upper hand.

Lance walks into the hall and sees Keith heing hugged by a larger human and being quite red. He is an odd mix of angry and hurt by this. Not sure what else to say, Lance just grumbles.

"Glad to see you're fine." To Keith, knowing he probably can't hear him. He wants to snatch Keith away but - as a human - he isn't much of a threat. Especially against someone that much bigger than him.

"Hunk! Stop!" Keith gently pushed the big man away. This has happened many times, Hunk is very much into skinship and Keith always has to get out of it before he gets one of Hunk's bear hugs. His eyes shift around the room and he spots Lance. "Lance!" He smiles and runs over.

Lance instantly clings to Keith, almost glaring at Hunk as he does. "You weren't there." He whines.

"You must be the dreaded boyfriend!" Hunk says playfully. "Nice to meet you I'm-"

"I am the boyfriend." Lance half growls.

"Right right." Hunk waves off the growl as a 'not a morning person' response. "Not bad Keith. Looks like a model."

"I'M NOT A MODEL! JUST CUZ I'M SHORT DOESN'T MEAN I'M NOT REAL!"

Keith quickly combs his hand through Lance's hair and hums. "Calm down Lance. Model means you look really good," he says softly as he calms Lance down.

Hunk laughs and shakes his head, not hearing what Keith says as he had to head back to the kitchen. "We gotta get some meat on that kid's bones." He calls. "You like eggplant parmesan? If not you'll like mine anyway."

"I thought models were like...little things people look at. Like ships and stuff." Lance nuzzles into Keith's hand and hums. He hears Hunk and growls again. "I'm not a kid." Then he looks confused as he peeks into the kitchen. "Why do I need meat on my bones? Humans don't usually eat other humans?"

To which hunk just dies laughing again.

Keith sighs softly. He wishes Hunk would stop talking right now. "Model is little ships but it's also really pretty humans and meat refers to your muscle and fat. He is saying you're too skinny." He rubs Lance's arm. "Sometimes being skinny is a sign of bad health."

"You two are definitely perfect for each other." He laughs before pulling the food out of the oven. "Just gotta give it a few to cool then we can all eat."

Lance nods then cuddles into Keith and kisses his neck. "Am I too skinny?" He asks quietly.

"No," Keith says as he nuzzles against Lance. "Hunk just likes to feed everyone. He makes the best food, you'll love it."

Lance clings to Keith, nuzzling his face into Keith's neck. He had somehow realized his hands weren't as restricted while Keith had worked magic on him or whatever He'd done. So, Lance tries to intertwine their fingers as he kisses Keith again. (PDA what's that?) "I am hungry." Lance says quietly before kissing Keith again. "You...you were blushing when I woke up...is it ok?" He remembers Keith saying he only liked to blush for him and hoped that hadn't been a lie.

Keith holds onto Lance's hand tightly. The kiss makes him forget that they are in the living room where everyone can see. When Lance asks about blushing, he blushes slightly. "We were talking about you," he says, hoping that it would be enough for Lance to understand.

"Oh. Good." He smiles. "I don't want you to make that face for anyone but me you know." Somehow the words sound both ominous and playful. Dragging Keith to the empty loveseat, Lance practically pulls Keith into his lap and curls his legs around Keith. "My Keith.~" he sings into Keith's back.

Keith's face only gets redder. It doesn't help that he knows Matt or Pidge is secretly taking photos. Keith leans back and rests his head on Lance's shoulder.

Lance watches him with happy eyes then kisses his neck again with a laugh before wrapping an arm around him too.

Hunk comes back in the room and is clearly surprised. He never expected Keith to be one for..cuddling? If that's what you could call that.

"Man, you really bring out Keith's true colors there Lance." He teases to which he only gets a silent glare in return. Turning to Shiro, Hunk clears his throat before quietly asking Shiro, "is he usually this grumpy?"

Shiro gives Hunk a sheepish smile. "He just needs to get to know you." Keith wonders if it would just be easier to tell Hunk about everything. He'll talk to Lance about it later. Keith looks down and starts playing Lance's fingers.

"Ah he's one of those." Hunk nods then heads back to the kitchen. "Well maybe he'll warm up after some food."

"But I'm not cold." Lance grumbles then smiles as Keith starts to play with his fingers. He nuzzles into Keith's cheek and hums then tightens his legs around Keith.

"Maybe." Shiro doesn't know how Lance reacts when trying food. Well, as a human.

Keith hums and nuzzles back. "He means he hopes you'll be nicer after you try his food," Keith whispers to Lance.

"But I'm really nice to you and you're all I care about." He whines quietly before gripping him tighter. "Should I be nicer to the other humans?"

Hunk watches him with an eyebrow raised, not able to hear him. "You know, looking at him, you'd expect lance to be way less shy." He shrugs. "Can't judge a book by its cover though, am I right?"

"You don't know the half of it," Pidge comments, finally taking a break from fiddling with whatever they had.

Keith lifts an arm up to cup Lance's cheek. "Just try to get to know them okay? You might like some of them." He nuzzles his forehead against Lance's cheek.

Lance seems nervous but smiles. "Would you like that? It would make my Keith happy?" He nuzzles into him and hums. After waiting for Keith to nod, Lance kisses him again and runs a hand over his ear. "If it will make you happy, i'll try."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hunk asks Pidge as he hands them a plate of food. "Juicy secrets? You know that's the only thing that makes my food taste even better." He teases.

Matt steals the plate from Pidge and licks the food quickly. "You mean the whole, fishboyfriend part?" He laughs a bit then takes a bite of the food.

"Matt," Shiro sighs.

"Matt!" Pidge yells, getting up to hit their brother.

"Thank you," Keith smiles and runs his own hand over Lance's ear.

"What?!" He looks between them both. "If anyone's going to not care its hunk and we all know that." After taking another bite he adds, "plus its not like anyone would believe us anyway."

Hunk, at this point, is wildly confused but he just shakes his head while carrying food out to pidge and Shiro, having decided to give Lance and Keith their space for a bit. "I am pretty sure I missed something."

Lance hums at the touch on his ear so he moves in to kiss Keith again, a bit more deeply than before.

Keith hums into the kiss. When he pulls away for air, he asks softly,"Are you okay with Hunk knowing about you?" He turned back into the group's conversation when Matt said 'fishboyfriend' and he instantly knew what they were talking about.

Lance curls into Keith then looks to the larger human nervously. He nuzzles Keith, trying to hide how scared he is and nods. "If Keith thinks it's safe, I trust you."

After a bite of food, Matt kicks his feet up onto the table and waves a hand. "Thanks for the food big guy!"

"No problem!" He says before sitting two plates down in front of Keith and Lance. "Hey man, I may be the size of a small bear but I'm friendly I swear!" After a short pause, Hunk laughs. "I'm a poet and I didnt even know it!"

"Hunk!" Keith calls. He waits till he has Hunk's full attention. "His name is Lance." He nuzzles into Lance. "And he is a siren. You can not tell anyone."

Lance grips Keith tight and won't meet Hunk's eyes. Time has taught him to hide so this all felt very foreign. Anxiously waiting for Hunk's response,Lance hides in Keith's hair.

"Oooohhhhh." Hunk seems to have a light bulb go off. "Ohh! That's why- but wait, aren't sirens suppose to be like..."

"Fishboyfriends?" Matt interrupts. "He was but then we use magic dust and accidentally made him human."

Hunk sits down and puts his food down, amazed to silence.

Keith purrs as he nuzzles Lance. Without moving his head, he looks at Hunk and asks,"Can you bring us a plate? Lance is hungry and it might help him like you."

Hunk nods, not quite being able to form words. He grabs one of the plates and holds it out to Lance. "Look dude, I'm really not going to hurt you. I swear it. And- and your secret is safe with me." He crosses his heart, not realizing Lance had no idea what that motion meant.

Though still a bit nervous, Lance grabs the food. "Fork again?" Lance grumbles in disdain. "Why can you humans just eat without all these fancy things?" he complains as he cuts a bite out of the meal and smells it. With a sharp breath, he eats the bite then perks up. "This is really good!" He hates that he doesn't have his tail in moments like this, you can't wag feet.

"Yeah?! Good." He hands Keith the other plate and takes a seat across from them. "You have to tell me how you met." He says while proudly watching Lance eat his food.

Keith smiles as he watches Lance. He nods in appreciation as he takes the plate from Hunk. "Pidge dared me to swim to the dead zone," he answers as he gathers food on his fork to take a bite. "It's right above his cave." Keith eats his first bite and nuzzles his head against Lance's shoulder.

Lance nods and smiles. "No one had visited in a long time." He says quietly, still not entirely comfortable talking to the other humans. "And...my Keith is very pretty." He laughs. "So I asked him-"

"Lured him with song!" Matt corrects with a smile, causing Lance to glare at him something vicious. "I just wanted to see him again."

"Ok, but," Hunk leans in close with a smile, "how did you get Shiro's approval?" He whispers possibly loud enough for Shiro to hear but definitely loud enough for Keith and lance to hear.

Shiro sighs lightly. "He really does care for Keith. Earlier today they left to go shopping and Keith had a panic attack. I don't know the details on why it happened but Lance asked me how he could help," he whispered back. His eyes softened when he replays the moment in his head. Lance really isn't a bad guy.

For some reason, Lance feels his face get hot as he hears the story about himself. He covers his cheeks, feeling the heat there and looking clearly confused. "I just didn't want him to feel like that." He mumbles, still not sure why his face feels hot.

"So can he still like...sing all hypnotizingly?" Hunk's eyes are sparkling with excitement. "Oh man. And like...was it like little mermaid moment, he sang and you were just in love?" He directs his question to Keith, recognizing how nervous Lance is.

"Lance shouldn't be able to hypnotize anymore," Pidge piped up.

"I... I guess?" Keith looked unsure. "We kinda talked in his cave but his songs are really pretty." He isn't sure if he has heard Lance sing more than once. Maybe twice?

When lance hears Pidge he perks up excitedly. "Wait really?" He had been so distracted by being human he hadn't even considered the idea he could probably actually sing now. "I could sing for Keith and-and it wouldn't hypnotize him?" He can hardly keep calm now.

"Wait. In his cave... Like...underwater? How did you talk underwater?" Hunk asks and Matt dramatically pouts.

"I could have made the discovery of the century! I'm telling you!"

"Lance had a necklace that allowed humans to be underwater," Keith answered. "I could talk and hear just fine. Same with breathing."

"Yeah, the only thing we wanted was for you not to be able to use that power but the witch took differently I guess." Pidge shrugged before continuing to eat.

"No allura just likes to give me a hard time. She's probably laughing her dorsel off watching me make a fool of myself." Lance replies easier than he had yet before grabbing Keith by the shoulder and beaming at him. "I can sing for you!" He looks excited beyond words.

Hunk was going to say more but watch Lance just makes him smile and sit back before eating.

Keith smiles. "I would love to hear you sing either way." Using his fork, he gets a bite from Lance's plate and holds it for Lance to eat.

Lance takes the bite, forgetting to chew again, but clears his throat quick enough to instantly start talking. "I haven't sang, like really sang for anyone in yeeeeeaaaars." He hugs Keith tightly, actually laughing a bit now. "I get to sing for my human!"

Hunk scoots over to Shiro and Matt. "You know...they kind of remind me of some other couple I know when they first started dating." He says with a teasing smile.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Shiro said. His blush gave away his already obvious lie.

"We could sing together too," Keith says as he tries to hug back. Their current position doesn't make it easy for him.

"You say it like I'm still not constantly trying to be stupid romantic and shit." Matt says with a teasing smile before poking the side of Shiro's face with a snicker. "I remember making you cry the first time I set up a stupid candle lit dinner. The food wasn't even good."

Shiro exaggerates a pout. "I didn't care about the food," he mumbled. He had always wanted a really nice romantic dinner. The set up alone was why he cried.

Lance hugs him tighter, having already forgotten about his food. He takes Keith's plate and sets it down then his on Keith's lap and hugs him again. "I've never been able to sing for anyone. Call me stupid or whatever, but i've always really wanted to. And I would adore singing with you." He pulls back. "But I don't really know any human songs."

"I'll show you some human songs later. I'm sure you'll be amazing singing them." Keith prepares another bite for Lance. "You could also try to teach me your songs."

Lance takes the bite quickly. "Hmmm. I think I'd rather sing one of yours with you. Something you really love." He cuddles close then kisses Keith's neck over and over. "I get to sing for you~"

"But it was semi burnt chicken nuggets and waffle fries because it was the only thing I could make after completely ruining the spaghetti." Matt laughs. "Who cries over waffle fries?"

"I didn't cry over the food!" Shiro lightly punches his boyfriend. "You know why I cried!"

Matt punches Shiro back. "Yeah yeah." He looks over to Keith and laughs. "Hunk's right though. How long until Keith cries because Lance makes him bad chicken nuggets." He smiles again and laughs.

Keith chuckles. He closed his eyes as he leans his head against Lance's. He's so happy that he swam into what could have been piranha infested waters.

Lance wraps himself around Keith, totally disinterested in the food now. "When can I sing? Where can I sing? What kind of song do you want?" He asks between kisses.

Keith laughs as he is attacked by a flurry of kisses and questions. He pets Lance's head, trying to calm him down. "That's all up to you." He doesn't care when, where or what because no matter what, it will still be Lance singing to him. Lance could sing right now and it would still be amazing. He's also pretty sure everyone else wouldn't mind either.

"It's not going to be over chicken nuggets," Shiro exasperates and lays his forehead on Matt's shoulder. "I'll probably be because of a song or present exchange."

"It's totally gonna be over chicken nuggets. Maybe he'll make him those alphabet ones." He says before cuddling into him.

Shiro rolls his eyes. "That's only a you thing."

Lance swears his body is tingling, he's so excited. "I want to sing you the love song I was taught forever ago. One of the elder merfolk taught it to me and it's always been my favorite but i've never been able to sing it to anyone." His words ramble out so fast they're probably too fast to really understand. Then, super out of character, Lance climbs off of Keith and -as fast as his unsteady legs would let him - grabs Pidge up in a hug. "Thank you. Thankyouthankyou." He doesn't even care if it wasn't because of this littler human he just wanted to say thank you.

Pidge lets out a small squeaks as Lance hugs them. "Woah! Why are you thanking me?" Keith takes out his phone and takes a few pictures. He can at least get a little bit of payback.

"Should I not?" He puts a Pidge back down and stands awkwardly. "I just...you said i can sing. And I was so distracted with...you know ..being human... that I hadn't thought about that so th-thank you." His adrenaline is skyrocketing when he turns around and kisses Keith again.

"Can I sing now? Please? Please?" He bows his head and adds, "your friends can listen too if you want them too." His face gets hot again. It's very strange.

"It's fine," Pidge mumbles. "Just sudden." They know that Lance is already too busy talking to Keith to hear them.

Keith chuckles as he cups Lance's cheek. It's really cute to see Lance blush. "Go ahead. No one is stopping you."

Lance fidgets with his shirt, suddenly a bit nervous. "I might not be as good since I-I'm human now." He cuddles into Keith's hands. "I hope you'll still like it at least." He then takes a few breathes and closes his eyes before starting to sing. The sound is unreal, matching the melodic feel of his voice when he had first met Keith and the range is certainly inhuman, sometimes almost sounding as if he is harmonizing with himself. Somewhere along the way, Lance relaxes but he doesn't open his eyes as he sings. Even once finished, he just sits, holding his shirt tight and keeping his eyes clenched shut

Keith remembers that he also closed his eyes when he sang earlier. His heart flutters throughout the entire song. When Lance doesn't reopen his eyes, he feels a bit sad. He leans in and kisses Lance softly. "That was amazing," he says breathlessly. Everyone else stared at Lance in awe.

Lance opens his eyes at the kiss and his breath catches. "You weren't hypnotized." He says almost amazed. When he looks around to see the others staring, Lance gets oddly self conscious and hides in Keith's chest, gripping his shirt tight. "I sang for you and...and it feels so good." He laughs again quietly.

Keith curls around Lance. "It sounded amazing," he said as he nuzzled into Lance's hair.

"How can you still sing like that?" Pidge asked, their eyes shining. They want to know if that Lance's throat was still the same as when he was a siren or if humans can actually sing like that.

Lance's eyes go wide, as if amazed one of the other humans seems so interested in him. Trying to not get worked up by so many pairs of eyes on him, Lance scratches his neck. "I...I don't know I just kinda always have?" He looks back to the ground. "One of my humans thought I had extra vocal chords or something but...it's not like I really know or anything." He cuddles in closer to Keith and kisses his neck (almost as though that motion had become something of a grounding method for him.)

"Dude." Matt says finally. "Record label or something I swear. People would lose their mind over that." He dramatically puts a hand to his chest. "If I could serenade you like that you would never hear the end of my cheesy 80s ballads." He smirks at Shiro.

Shiro blushes and covers Matt's face with his hands. "I don't need anymore of your cheesy 80s ballads."

"I would love to have a recording of your singing," Hunk pitched in. Keith is petting Lance's head, happy that Lance is being praised.

"But you love my ballads!" Matt laughs.

Lance uncovers his face, still oddly hot and looks around. "It's...you all really liked it? I never had much to compare it to so...you know." He takes a deep breath. "The first human to sing for me was Keith so its weird to feel like...have you all like it." A small smile sneaks onto his face then. "I'm really happy."

Hunk squeals and hugs the new couple. He really did try to hold back, he just can't fight the urge to hug people. "I'm so happy! You're so cute and you're song is out of this world!"

Shiro blushes more and just slaps Matt's shoulder. "Can we not focus on us right now?"

"Fiiine." Matt turns to Lance and snickers. "I'll gladly teach you 80s ballads to sing to Keith."

Keith glares at Matt. "You will not." Hunk lets the couple go and nods.

"I don't know what-" Lance's words are cut short by the hug and he feels his face turning hot again. "You're happy?" Lance kinks his head to the side.

Pidge pretends to vomit. "Ew. Enough cheese. I'm going to my room. My god you guys." Then they grab whatever they had been fidgeting with and walk away.

"I am happy. Thank you for trusting us enough to sing in front of us."

Lance looks over at Keith then back to Matt. "Are 80s ballads bad?" Lance asks before looking at Hunk and smiling. "I just...you're welcome." He then cuddles into Keith and licks his neck before trying to bite down a bit as Keith had done to him earlier. He looks backwards to everyone else. "You humans aren't so bad."

"It's not bad," Shiro answers," It's just that most people don't like it." Shiro glares at Matt.

Keith blushes and shivers. He has gotten a pretty used to Lance kissing his neck but he wasn't expecting to be licked and bitten. He'll need to explain the biting to Lance when they are alone again. Hunk just ignores all the pda and smiles. "Thank you."

Lance smiles at then all looks back to Keith. "And thank you most of all." He then playfully glares. "Even if, you really should have been more careful. Piranhas are angry little assholes." He crosses his arms angrily.

Matt pouts at Shiro's glare. "Fine. I won't pull put the boom box and sing to wake you up Saturday mornings anymore." He half smirks, tryog to stay stone faced.

Shiro sighs and rolls his eyes. Keith on the other hand, gives Lance a sheepish smile. "We didn't believe it was piranhas."

"So was it better or worse. Either way be careful. Especially with me like this Damnit."

Hunk moves over to Shiro and Matt again. "Is it just me or is it weird to see Keith being scolded by someone other than Shiro?" he asks the two. Keith tries not to smile as he pouts childishly.

"Okay."

Matt laughs and hugs Shiro. "Maybe with fishboyfriend around this guy will be able to take a break!" He laughs again then kisses shiro on the cheek.

"Good." Lance nuzzles his cheek and hums. "I miss being able to purr but...maybe I can sing for you more often?" He kisses Keith's neck then smiles before biting it again.

Keith smiles softly and hums back. "Yea-ah!" Keith's eyes widen as a shiver runs down his body. His cheeks grow red as he can feel at least Shiro's eyes on him. He covers his face with his hand. "L-Lance," he whines softly.

Lance looks up at him innocently. He was only returning the favor. Earlier he'd rather enjoyed that. "Not good?" He says worriedly before spying his red face. "You look happy." He nuzzles his cheek into Keith's.

"You know," Matt starts as he finishes the rest of his food, "I have the sudden urge to go see a movie. I'll pay for your ticket as a return thank you for the food." Patting his wallet as though he can count the money that way, he snaps. "Oh but would you look at that, I don't have money for fishboy and Keith." He snatches up Shiro and leads him toward the door.

Shiro snickers while Hunk laughs. Keith glares at the trio as they leave. He then nuzzles Lance back. "You're not supposed to bite in front of others." Keith blushes more. "It's for when we are alone together."

"I didn't know." Lance bows his head then looks around with a grin. Once he's checked to make sure that everyone is gone, Lance moves back toward Keith's neck and bites it a few times before humming, "but we're alone now."

As if on queue, Pidge darts out of their room. Shouting toward the doorway. "Matt holt I will murder you if you don't buy me a ticket!" Before slamming the door behind them.

Keith jumps slightly. Once he hears the door slam, he slowly starts laughing. "Now we're alone." Damn it Pidge.

Lance bites his neck again and hums into it. "It's nice to not have to worry so much about hurting you since these teeth are so dull." Lance hums as he climbs on top of Keith. He looks down at him and smiles. "So what else am I not supposed to do?" He asks before leaning back down and playfully biting at Keith's neck. "Besides this I mean."

He lets out a soft groan every time Lance bites him. Keith's whole body tingles as Lance climbs on top of him. Keith opens his mouth to answer Keith but a quiet moan escapes instead. "L-long kisses are only for when we are alone," Keith stutters," Only small kisses, nuzzles, hugs, and cuddles are okay in front of others."

"So...," Lance licks his lips then pushes up close to him and gives him a long kiss as he runs his hands up Keith's neck to bury his fingers in Keith's hair. Only after feeling breathless, does Lance pull away. "So no kisses like that in front of others?"

"Y-yeah," Keith stutters, feeling a bit light headed. His eyes are half lidded as he gazes at Lance.

Lance looks Keith over then runs a hand down Keith's chest while licking his lips. Raising an eyebrow, Lance runs his fingers over Keith's crotch. "Probably not this either."

Keith twists his body a bit, holding back a moan. "Yeah," he says softly.

Lance grins and rubs a bit more before leaning in to bite Keith's neck again. "Yeah?" He kisses then bites him again. "Do you like it though?"

Keith moans as he wraps his arms around Lance. "Feels... Good," he says between groans.

Lance smiles then looks Keith over before pouting a bit. "Your clothes are in the way and I'm not good at taking them off." With a smirk, he sits back and pouts. "Strip for me?"

His face reddens even more. Keith knows Lance is doing this on purpose. Despite knowing that, Keith starts to strip in silence. He takes off his shirt and undoes his pants, all that is left for Lance to do is pull Keith's pants and underwear down.

Lance sighs as he watches Keith strip and once he's nearly naked, he moves in and kisses his nipple before sliding a hand down his pants. "That's was incredible." He compliments after releasing Keith's nipple, arms running his other hand over the muscles of his stomach. "You have an exquisite body." He hums happily as he takes Keith's dick in his hand and slooooowly starts to pump.

Keith moans and slightly arcs his back when Lance plays with his nipples. His moan only gets louder as the hands travel further down his body. "Lance," he whines, wanting to be pumped faster. He bucks his hips a little.

Knowing what he's asking for, Lance nods then starts to pump Keith at a pace that Lance has discovered to be the perfect speed. He watches Keith's face with curious eyes, waiting to see if Keith approved. His free hand finds one of Keith's nipples and starts running circles on it since he seemed to have liked that attention.

Keith's whole body shivers as he closes his eyes. "Lance," he moans as he forces his eyes slightly open. This feels so amazing.

Lance feels a wave of electricity shoot through his body when Keith says his name. He leans down and kisses Keith,hand not slowing as he does before whispering, "just...tell me if I do anything you don't like." Then he angles his head to bite Keith's neck again.

"O-okay," he says quietly. Keith tilts his head back as he lets out a louder moan. He can feel his dick twitch and leak precum.

Lance licks down Keith's neck and kisses a trail to Keith's nipple, he teases Keith's tip with one finger and he continues to pump. "I love the sounds you make for me." Lance hums.

Keith tries to suppress his moans but it fails as he only moans louder. He combs a hand into Lance's hair and grips lightly.

"Mmm." Lance slows his hand just a bit, making Keith want for it. He tries biting Keith's nipple a bit, just once and gently, but he wants to see how Keith will react. Then, once Keith clearly wants his hand to move faster, Lance works him hard.

Keith arcs his back as he moans. "Gaahh~ Ahhhh~! Lance~!" His hips shake as his guts start to tighten.

Lance, meanwhile, never takes his eyes off of Keith. He watches him as he nears climax and finds himself unbelievably aroused by the sounds and expressions he sees. Using one hand to play with Keith's nipple and the other to get Keith off, Lance moans Keith's name.

Keith's breathing speeds up as he is about to cum. He arches his back more and a moan gets caught in his throat as he cums. "Lance," he moans with a shaky voice as slowly comes down from his climax.

Lance wasn't sure what to do with the mess so his most logical thought was to lick his hand clean as he let Keith come down so when he hears his name, Lance just smiles at Keith with a finger in his mouth before laying down beside him.

"It doesn't taste gross?" Keith asks weakly. He rolls onto his side and cuddles into Lance.

"No worse than the cooked shrimp. That's for sure." He shivers just thinking about it. "It just kinda...tastes like you i guess." He pulls his hand away and looks at Keith with a warm smile. "I am...actually totally in love with you

Keith smiles softly at Lance. He can think of a few teasing things he could say but Lance probably wouldn't understand. "I'm totally in love with you too."

Lance cuddles in close and focuses hard to wrap his legs around Keith's before running his palm over Keith's skin. "I really enjoy your skin and muscles. They are actually perfect." He kisses Keith's cheek. "You know...like the rest of you."

Keith blushes. "Didn't you hear Hunk? You're the model."

"And that's a good thing." Lance has to remind himself with a shrug. "I much prefer having a tail but..." He cuddles in close and kisses Keith's neck. "This...I'm happy with too." His smile speaks the truth. Kissing him a few more kisses, Lance questions. "And you're still feeling ok?"

"Yeah," Keith smiles. "Just a bit tired." He nuzzles into Lance's neck. "Thanks for worrying."

"No need to thank me." Lance runs his fingers through Keith's hair. "I just want you to be happy." After a few minutes of sitting and watching Keith, Lance sighs. "Do you want me to try to carry you to your room so you can sleep better?"

"You don't have to carry me. I should be able to walk on my own." He slowly sits up but doesn't take his eyes off Lance. "Have you gotten used to walking?"

"Ssssorta?" He touches his legs and sighs. "I feel so slow and some of the time I feel like I'm going to fall but...at least it's better." When Keith sits up, Lance smiles at him, leaning in to kiss him with a silly smile.

Keith chuckles. "Are you tired at all? We can still do whatever you want before we go to sleep."

"Cuddling with you in bed sounds great." Lance smiles. "Your bed is remarkably soft and it all smells like you so...I love it." He laughs again then runs his hand through Keith's hair and sighs. "You know...before you swam above my cave...I thought I was going to be alone forever."

"I'm sure you would have found someone," Keith mumbles, not fully believing it himself. He was never that interested in anyone before Lance so he can kind of understand. Keith gathers up his clothes and starts to put them back on. "There are other crazy kids who would probably try swimming out to the dead zone."

"But none would be my Keith." Lance says without a second thought. He swats the clothes out of Keith's hand. "If it's just us...do you have to wear clothes?" His lower lip pouts. "I love the feeling of your skin."

Keith bites his lower lip to keep himself from laughing. "I should at least wear my underwear," he says as he picks that article of clothing back up. "Are you okay with that?" he asks with a raised eyebrow, half expecting Lance to swat it away again.

Lance pouts but grumbles in agreement. He pouts the entire way back to the room before sitting on the bed to take his shirt off too. As much as he liked this fabric, bare skin still feels better. However, getting out of a shirt is stupid and Lance still hates it. Though, he does manage to get the shirt off. Albeit inside out and somehow upside down but, he does it. "Clothes just seem like such a hassle."

"Sometimes they are." Keith hugs Lance and cuddles. Being able to touch skin to skin really does feel better than wearing clothes. "Is there really nothing else you want to do before we sleep?"

"I could sing you a siren's lullaby?" He feels his face get hot again at the thought of it but his heart races thinking about being able to sing again. "I just want to be with you." His face being hot doesn't get any better but at least he feels good about himself

"You're really cute when you blush," Keith comments quietly as he cups Lance's burning face. "A lullaby would be nice. I've never really heard any before."

Lance smiles and cuddles into his hands but then looks at Keith like he's just been stabbed in the heart. "You've..." His face gets somehow more sad. "You're a human orphan..." He grabs Keith up and holds him close. Without worrying anymore, Lance starts to sing what was unanimously known as the Siren's lullaby. There aren't words really...well...at least not human ones, but the sound is hypnotizing even without his siren powers.

He didn't mean to sadden Lance with that information. His eyes widen when Lance suddenly holds him close but quickly relaxes. The song is really nice and soothing. He gets lost in the sounds as his eyes start to droop. Sensing Keith starting to get drowsy, Lance lays him down and starts to run his fingers through his hair, quieting the song to a quiet hum as he sees Keith close his eyes. Keith loosely clings onto Lance in his sleep. He nuzzles into the warmth of Lance's chest.

Lance listens to him breathing. He hears the others come back in and, wanting to apologize for not knowing things earlier, he carefully, he slips away from Keith. He looks down. still in leg clothes Hoping it isn't too strange for humans to go shirtless when not in the water, he steps out of the bedroom. However, once he sees them all, Lance freezes, not really sure what to say.

"Hey fishboyfriend. What's on your mind?" Matt puts his free hand on his hip, other arm still locked in Shiro's arm.

"I - " He looks around toward the ground. "I'm sorry I don't know things...well, human things anyway."

"It's alright. We can't expect you to know everything just because you currently have the same form as us," Shiro says. "It would be hard to learn all of the human things without growing up around it."

"I just...I didn't mean to be disrespectful or anything." He bows his head and takes a deep breath. "And..I'm trying to be nicer. I promise. But...if I get mad I don't mean to...ok?" He finally looks up at them and tries to force a nervous smile.

"That smile is so much less threatening without the dagger teeth." Matt mutters quietly.

Shiro elbows him but smiles at Lance. "We understand. Thank you for the heads up."

Lance looks them all over then just turns and leaves. He may need a bit more hint on social etiquette, but at least he was giving an effort. Slipping back into bed, Lance cuddles up and finds himself lulled to sleep by the steady breathing of Keith. When he finally falls asleep it is with a smile on his face.


	10. Chapter 10

It is earlier than he realized when Lance finds himself awake again. He stretches before slipping away from Keith. Picking up his shirt, Lance turns it inside out then is determined to get dressed. Finally, he does it. Celebrating a little, he steps into the hall. While not sure what he was going to do, Lance found himself wanting to look at more of the things in the home. Like the pictures on the wall and the weird box that was bright yesterday and all the kitchen stuff. He stops and touches one item after the other, just looking them over and trying to learn what they might be.

Shiro slips away from Matt and goes to make coffee. "Oh, good morning Lance," he says when he runs into Lance exploring the kitchen.

Lance slams down whatever the thing he was looking at, not sure if he was suppose to be out here and getting into things. He doesn't say anything at first then nervously smiles. "G-good morning Shiro." Looking back to the thing he'd just been studying, Lance picks it up and starts to put it away before mumbling, "sorry I was just trying to see what things are I swear."

"You're not making a giant mess so it's okay. Would you like help reading the labels?" Shiro offered as he opened a cabinet to grab the coffee ingredients.

Lance looks to the ground. "I can't read at all so...I mean...I was more just...looking I guess?" He watches Shiro with curious eyes. "You and the orange haired humans drink that a lot." Trying to spy without being intrusive, Lance seems surprised when he sees the drink starts as water and some sand.

Shiro smiles, he likes curious Lance. "This is called coffee, it helps us wake up in the morning and stay awake through the day. Would you like to try? It's a bit hot."

Lance nods, despite not really needing to be awake, he is curious what the other humans like about it so much. He tilts his head looking at the pot with a squinted eye. "But how did the water make the sand liquid?" His question seems logical enough, to him anyway. "It smells nice at least."

"It wasn't sand, it's called powder. It dis... umm... It's similar to how ice turns into water. The powder mixes with water to make coffee," Shiro tries to explain. He knows the explanation isn't the best but he doesn't know how to explain dissolving properly.

"Like seafoam if you take it underwater." Lance somehow understands. He takes the cup Shiro hands him and the warmth feels nice on his hands. "It's like holding a sun warmed rock." He laughs a bit then takes a deep breath. Lance just holds the mug for a bit while looking around at other things in the kitchen. He feels like he could talk all day, just asking about all the different things. Careful not to drop the cup, Lance points to the dishes and wine rack. "That kind of stuff falls underwater sometimes." He says then takes a sip of the black coffee before grimacing and sitting it down. "No. No that's not good."

"Those are called dishes," Shiro points to them,"You eat food off of them and the wine rack holds long glass bottles." Shiro turns to Lance and chuckles, finding the former siren's reaction funny. "I like my coffee bitter. Some people add cream and sugar into their coffee to make it sweeter."

"I like sweeter things but that is not sweet." He looks back to the cup and just shakes his head before running his hands along the handle of the refrigerator. Opening it, he looks inside, slightly amazed at the temperature difference and the light inside this chest. Curious what the other handle has, sort of expecting that one to be warmer, Lance closes the other door and opens the freezer before shivering and closing it again. "Humans have so much...stuff." Lance says while turning back to the coffee to see Shiro has handed him creamer and sugar. While Lance didn't know which was which, he was interested to know how these two...things could make the drink taste different.

"Those are really sweet on their own," Shiro says as he makes Lance his own small cup of coffee. "Go ahead and add it to the coffee, make sure to try it before adding more." He slides the smaller cup towards Lance.

He adds "only a little" to the cup which...isn't that little. Once the coffee is a light brown color, he tries it again and seems much happier. Lance smiles up to Shiro. "You would probably have been a protector in our colonies." He states almost out of nowhere as he sips on his coffee. "Most protectors didn't like me." He laughs then tilts his head. "Sirens have bad tempers and protectors often had to intervene when I'd get in a fight." Looking back down, Lance smiles fondly. "But the protectors were always the best of us. They cared for everyone and had more patience than the rest of us combined." Though he might be making a round about way of it, Lance is obviously trying to compliment Shiro.

Shiro feels happy. Lance reminds him of Keith when they first started to get to know each other. "Do you think I would be one of the best? I did manage to befriend Keith after all." He takes another sip of his coffee. He almost chuckles remembering how much of a troublemaker Keith was. Well... He is still a troublemaker but in a different way.

"Mmhmm." Lance nods and smiles. "Thank you." He shakes his head, realizing he hadn't explained his thoughts. "Before he met you, Keith was an orphan, right? But I think you really helped him." Lance's smile is quieter than usual. "So, thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. We actually met on really rough terms. He had pointed a small kitchen knife at me when I went to go say hi." Shiro chuckles, remembering a younger Keith glaring at him while holding one of the smaller kitchen knives. "He has changed a lot since then."

Lance laughs a bit, imagining it. "Because of his protector." He looks back to Shiro and smiles again, a little more openly this time. "Like I said, protectors are the best - of, well probably the best humans too." Taking a drink of his coffee, Lance rubs an eye and stretches before bending down to rub his legs. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, his legs were tired from the walk yesterday, but in a way that almost felt good?

Shiro really appreciates the indirect compliments Lance is giving him. He gets a bit worried when Lance rubs his legs. "Are they sore?" he asks.

"Um..." Lance feels bad complaining since he was with Keith the whole time but... "A bit." He shakes his head. "Feels almost like...after I'd swam against a current or something. So..it is a good ache I guess." He drinks more of his coffee then opens his mouth to speak when the taller of the orange hairs come in. Matt literally says nothing. He hardly even looks awake as he grabs a mug and makes his drink. Seeing the typically louder human like this, Lance can't hide his look of confusion and concern. Keith had told him to try being nice but...was this one ok? Maybe he was sick?

"Perhaps stretching will help. It feels really good when you have sore muscles," Shiro says while Lance drinks. He then turns to Matt and says,"Morning Matt."

Matt takes a drink of his coffee and leans against Shiro. "Ugh. You woke me up. I could smell the coffee." His voice is sleepy. "Did I hear you talking about stretching?" He yawns and has another drink, eyes still barely open as he leans his head on Shiro's shoulder.

Lance watches him and isn't sure he's ever seen a creature act like this. "Why not keep sleeping if you're still tired" He asks innocently then shakes his head. "I've seen humans do that for decades. Why not just sleep when you're tired?"

"I like fishboyfriend's logic. Let's take it up with bossman." Matt points toward Lance, face still buried sleepily in Shiro's shoulder.

Shiro sighs. "You know we can't do that," he mumbles to Matt. He turns back towards Lance and says,"Humans have jobs that require us to show up at a certain time. Humans have deemed it lazy to stay asleep for too long."

Matt takes another drink of his coffee then sighs. "Yeah yeah." He yawns one more time then rubs his eyes. "So you guys bonding or were you - you got fishboyfriend drinking coffee?" Matt's laughs.

"My name is lance." He says in a growl before taking a breath to calm himself. "But plenty of sleep is healthy." His voice is a little whiny as he says this but then he takes a sip of this drink and changes tones. "Is there any job I could do for Keith? Or for you guys?"

Shiro hums in thought. "There really isn't much that needs to get done. Just spend your time with Keith and have fun."

Lance smiles and nods. "I was already going to do that. I just wanted to let him sleep." He finishes the drink then, seeing the other mugs in the sink, he puts his there before starting to walk away.

"Hey lance!" Matt calls, making lance quickly turn to face him. "When you go to leave, say bye or something. Humans like closure."

"But...this room is open?" Lance shrugs. "Bye or something." Then he starts back toward the bedroom, getting mildly distracted by paintings on the hallway walls

Keith slowly wakes up. Not feeling his boyfriend next to him, we sleepily calls out," Lance?" He hits up with half lidded eyes and he looms around the room.

Lance's hearing wasn't as good as it use to be, but he was acutely attuned to the sound of Keith's voice. He hurries as best he can into the room and quickly lays his head down on the still half asleep man's lap. "Good morning Keith." He smiles up at him.

Keith smiles down at Lance. "Morning," he says sleepily.

Lance reaches up to rub Keith's cheek then spins around so he can kiss him. "Did you sleep well?" He says as he nuzzles his check against the one not covered by his hand.

"Yeah," Keith hums as he nuzzles back.

Lance seems pleased by this so he nuzzles again before humming into Keith's ear. "What does my Keith want to do today?" He asks quietly as he starts to kiss Keith's neck. Apparently this is becoming as regular as nuzzling.

"We could watch a movie," Keith suggested. His neck tingled slightly with every kiss. "We can watch it on the TV, the black box in the living room."

"Oh I'd like to see a movie!" Lance says with a smile. "I've never seen moving pictures." He speaks between kisses as he cuddles their bodies together and runs his fingers over Keith's revealed skin. "On the black box? Does it work like your little message box?"

"Yeah. They are similar, you just can't touch the screen of the black box." Keith hums at the feeling of Lance's fingers gliding across his skin.

"And it's much bigger." Lance says playfully before looking up to Keith and smiling. "Human skin is so soft. And yours feel so warm. I am jealous." Lance laughs a bit. "I'm always cold now." He giggles a bit. "Well, when I'm not like this with you." Going quiet for a second, Lance almost whispers his question. "Are you happier that I'm human?"

Keith cups Lance's face so that they were eye to eye. "I'm just happy to be able to spend time with you. I didn't mind staying in the bathroom with you but it's nice being able to do so many things together." He lays his forehead against Lance's. "If there was a way to become a merperson, I would gladly join you in the water."

"But humans have so much...stuff and you have friends." Lance somehow manages to feel guilty. He didn't really understand the feeling. None of this had been his decision and yet, he couldn't hide how guilty he felt. "You have a protector who cares about you and - and I just have me. I don't want you to leave them all. Not just for me." He pouts despite cuddling into Keith's hands.

"Do you mean Shiro?" Keith chuckles softly. "Humans don't always stay close to their friends and I could never leave you alone." Keith brushes his nose against Lance's. "Plus, they could always just visit the beach."

"Mmhmm." Lance nods then grins when Keith nuzzles his nose with his. "I told him today while having coffee that he is like the merfolk's protectors. He smiled about it." Lance kisses Keith and hums when the odd electric feeling shoots through his body. "You wouldn't get lonely without them? I mean...if you want to see them you walk outside or use your message box. I don't think those work underwater."

"But I would have you," Keith says softly. Thinking about leaving Shiro does hurt his heart a little. He would definitely miss his friends, but they don't need him like Lance does. Everything would be fine without him here.

Lance sees the look on Keith's face and even though it pains him to say it, Lance swallows hard then asks. "Would you rather me stay human?" He tries not to show how hard that would be for him. "We can just...stop trying to find a way to change me back. And I can...stay with you and your friends." He hopes sincerely that his smile doesn't look too forced when he meets Keith's eyes.

Keith sighs softly and lightly bumps Lance's head with his. "I would prefer which ever makes you happiest. It doesn't have to be all about what I want. It's your body."

"What makes me happiest is seeing you happy." Lance says then sighs. "It just feels strange to be human. Like...I can feel this body...aging? Or something? And I miss the sounds of the water and the trill of fish." He hadn't meant to ramble and he looks a bit guilty when he looks back up. "But I would never forgive myself if you were sad because of me."

"It won't be because of you," Keith mumbles and gives Lance an eskimo kiss. "What form you want to have is all up to you. I'll be happy either way."

Lance's chest feels tight. He gives Keith th nose rub back then nuzzles his cheek and hums. "I just love you." He says sweetly. "Maybe we can just...watch a movie and figure it out along the way?"

"Yeah. We'll do that." He nuzzles Lance back. "Ready to head to the living room?"

"Yeah. I want to see how the black box makes moving pictures." He says happily before kissing Keith's neck again and humming.

Keith smiles and leads Lance to the living room. Keith grabs the remote before sitting down on the same love seat as yesterday. "Is there anything you want to see? We have princess movies, mermaid, fighting, and funny movies."

"Humans have movies about merfolk?" Lance seems surprised but can't hide his wonder. "I thought humans were scared of us? Or is that just sirens..." He trails off then cuddles close to Keith. "I want to watch anything." He giggles.

"It's about a mermaid princess who saves a prince from drowning and falls in love," Keith explains. "It's one of the movies that sets what kids think merpeople are like."

Lance smiles and laughs a bit. "You can be my prince. I certainly fell in love with you." He nods. "I want to see what humans think we are like." And with that Lance moves in to nuzzle Keith again.

Keith nuzzles back and fiddles with the remote until the movie starts playing. He wonders just how different real merpeople are from what society thinks they are like.

Lance watches the screen with wide eyes. He can't help but jump up and move closer, as though he might be able to figure out how the black box works. He wants to touch it but he remembers Keith said not to so he begrudgingly walks back next to Keith. When he sees the merperson, his eyes look over to Keith confused. "Why does she look like that?" He asks as if Keith would know what he means.

Assuming Lance was asking about the mermaids not having scales and ears like Lance did, he says,"It's what they thought a mermaid would look like. Half human half fish."

"But she has the...human girl chest." Lance says. "I mean, of course the lack of proper ears is odd. And here eyes are human. They would explode down there, right? She's at the bottom of the ocean after all." He laughs a bit and shrugs. "And what a boring tail. Though more fitting for the female she is."

Keith raised an eyebrow after the first thing Lance said. Human girl chest? Do real merpeople not have them? Well... It does make sense since fish don't need milk. "Are all mermaids flat chested with boring tails?" he asks as he lays his head against Lance's.

"Yes." He says plainly then points to his hips. "They have extra fins here, just little ones. And they usually have more noticeable gills." Lance runs a hand down his legs as if missing his tail but shakes his head. "And they tend to be smaller. Aren't human females usually smaller too?"

"Usually, yes." He tries to picture a mermaid according to Lance's description.

Seeing King Titan, Lance actually laughs and shakes his head. "Humans really didn't know much when they made this huh?" He laughs again, rather boisterously actually. "Like they would let a merman with a weapon to be on any sort of thrown."

"The weapon in his hand is called a trident. He got it from his father, the god of the sea, Poseidon. Who is normally on the throne?"

"Females, of course. And more than one at a time." He sighs then cuddles into Keith. "One mind cannot make a group decision. And a weapon should never be displayed as a sign of power." He looks over to Keith. "At least that's how the merfolk see it." He goes a bit quiet. "Its why sirens are never part of the counsel. We are weapons in a way. So… It's counterintuitive." His words are a bit more quiet. When he sees the sisters, Lance points. "They would all be where… King Titan is. Maybe add one or two others." He clings close to Keith, hoping his human won't try to make him look back up. Even with how ridiculous it all is, Lance can't help but miss home.

Keith hugs Lance and pets his head. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to watch a movie about mermaids. "Humans prefer a man in power. They used to think women were meant to do nothing but house work and look pretty." He nuzzles into Lance's hair.

"Pffft. That's silly." Lance says with a sad laugh. "Without women the men can't survive. How would there be children? And why do the women have to look pretty? Shouldn't the men be trying to look better. We do less after all." He nuzzles into Keith's hand in his hair. Still angled toward the tv, Lance doesn't even realize his eyes have started to water.

"Do you want to stop watching?" Keith asks softly. He slides the hand down to cup Lance's cheek. "We don't have to finish the movie."

Lance shakes his head and smiles. "But I want to see her fall in love." He laughs but it kind of breaks in his chest. Cuddling into Keith, he tries to calm down. "When fish sing it sounds nothing like that." He tries to be silly again but the words just sound sad. With a sigh he finally admits, "I miss the ocean." The words are so quiet that he doesn't even know if Keith will hear them.

Keith turns so he is facing Lance more. He tries to comfort Lance with cuddles and nuzzles. He doesn't know what it's like to miss a place. "Your singing is way better."

He smiles a bit and nods. "Yes it is." He agrees before looking up at Keith. His eyes are still shiny with nearly falling tears but seeing Keith seems to calm him. Nuzzling his cheek as he does, Lance kisses his neck and sighs. "I am more glad than you know to have met you." Keith doesn't know what to say in response so he just kisses near Lance's ear. Lance's hair tickles his face a little. It's unbelievably soft.

Lance hums then kisses Keith's neck before turning back to watch more of the movie. The more he watches prince Eric, the more Lance hugs Keith. Near the middle of the movie, Lance is nearly wrapped all the way around Keith and has started to react more out of worry and excitement to the movie than whether it is accurate. When kiss the girl comes on, Lance laughs and kisses up and down Keith's neck before looking around to verify the are alone and biting it once. He then giggles before cuddling back down.

Keith is more entertained by Lance than the movie. He gets a little engrossed into the movie before Lance bites him. He lets out a surprised gasp mixed with a moan. His face heats up and tries to get into the movie again.

Lance laughs a bit, liking that reaction more than he liked the movie. He trailed his fingers up Keith's neck with a hum. He kisses the soft spot just under Keith's ear then hums. "Those sounds always make my stomach do a flip." He whispers the words into Keith's ear, not trying to actually be sensual so much as thinking that might be something to say in private.

Keith shivers. "Your sounds are so much better," he says and nuzzles Lance. "So much more intoxicating."

Lance shakes his head. "Not true." He trails his fingers up Keith's chest, never tiring of the feeling. Especially as Keith's heart rate climbs with the quiet words echoing in his ear. "I have never heard anything more magical than your gasps." His words are oddly musical as he speaks.

Keith blushes more. "That's only because you can't hear your own voice."

Lance shakes his head then lightly bites Keith's earlobe. "I think I just like your voice better." He glances around again before putting his hand under Keith's shirt so he can feel the skin there. Nuzzling as he does, Lance hums then kisses Keith's neck again.

Keith groans softly at being bit again. "That's just your opinion." He places a hand on Lance's thigh and rubs in a circular motion.

"Isn't that all that matters?" Lance says, his heart starting to race when Keith touches his thigh. Silly human bodies are so sensitive. "I like your voice, no, love your voice. Any of it. It makes me happy." Without realizing it, Lance scoots himself closer to Keith's hand, infatuated with the gentle circles.

"Even if I make silly noises?" Keith laughs. Since Lance scooted closer, Keith's hand got closer to Lance's crotch. Keith continues to rub in circles, most are small but he would do a bigger one every now and then.

"Even silly noises." Lance agrees quietly ad he felt his stomach bubbling excitedly. He had relaxed his he'd onto the back of the loveseat without even realizing it. The circles on his already sensitive legs moving steadily upwards were making his head foggy. Not thinking about it, Lance bites his lower lip as his stomach grows hot and electric. "I think your hands are..." He shakes his head, trying to clear away the fog. "Magic or something."

"Do you want me to stop?" He doesn't go up any further, loving this reaction.

Lance pouts and whines a little before shaking his head. "Please no." His voice is a quiet and desperate whine. Opening his eyes a little, Lance gives Keith a look that is the strangest mix of pouty and horny.

Keith smirks. "You look amazing," he whispers as he slowly moves his hand up again until he reaches the most sensitive part of the leg, the inner side where the leg connects to the rest of the body.

Lance's eyes roll back before his eyelids flutter shut and he feels his breaths grow shallow. He had wanted to argue, to say Keith looked better...but his mind was just a cloudy blur of unbridled want. How in the he'll do humans function being this sensitive?! "Keith..." His all Lance is able to breathlessly force out despite the whirlwind of things he wants to say.

"Hmm?" Keith hums. He teases Lance by making sure that one of his fingers rubs right next to where Lance's balls would be. Lance tenses up a bit, feeling the electricity shoot through his body stronger. He gasps, not sure how to even speak right anymore. His hand reaches out for Keith's hair and he grips it then, a bit tighter than usual, trying to pull Keith into a kiss. His dick was already getting hard and he hasn't even been trying to...do...anything with Keith...not really anyway.

Keith stops just to lower Lance's leg clothing to his knees. "Do you want me to continue?" Keith asks as he lightly trails a fingertip up Lance's dick.

Lance gasps again at the touch. So goddamn sensitive. He doesn't mean to moan but it comes out in a strange whining sound anyway. "Please?" He whines before weakly pulling Keith in, asking for a kiss without words. Already, Lance's toes are curled under his feet, in love with this feeling.

Keith leans in and kisses Lance as he wraps his hand around Lance's dick and pumps slowly.

Lance hungrily accepts the kiss but his jaw falls open when Keith starts to pump him. He grabs Keith's neck and scratches at it a bit, head cloudy as he releases another whining moan. "Keith...mmm."

Meanwhile, Matt had walked toward the bedroom door, coffee mug in hand then abruptly stopped and grumbles before dragging his feet back to the desk. "Man. I wanted more coffee."

Shiro is sitting in bed, reading. He looks up and asks,"Then go get more. It's not like yours take that long to make."

"You know..." Matt laughs a bit. "I would but the living room is...well, occupied? So I can wait."

Shiro puts his book down. "What?" Just then, he hears what Matt is talking about. "Oh..."

"Must be something about Mondays and getting bored in the living room." Matt says teasingly before taking a seat next to Shiro and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "I don't even remember what we were watching last Monday." He laughs again.

Shiro rolls his eyes. "We were watching one of the space movies."

Matt smiles over to Shiro and wiggled an eyebrow at him. "We should watch it again."

Shiro shoots Matt a glare before quickly stuffing his nose back in his book.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Keith hums and kisses to Lance's ear, biting his earlobe. He pumps Lance with long slow strokes. "Ah-hmm..mmm." Lance can't make any of his semicoherent thought into even partially coherent sounds. Running solely on instinct. His hand trails down Keith's chest blindly. He wants to hear Keith's sounds too but his mind is so foggy that he's not sure how to get his hand working right. When a louder than he means to groan, Lance rubs his plan over Keith's bulge before he feels his head start to so in from longing. "Faster." He whines.

Keith groans. "Do you want to do it together?" he asks softly, his other hand already starting to take off his clothes.

"Please." Lance pats before impatiently thrusting his hand down Keith's hardly down pants and starts pumping. He doesn't give Keith any warm up, he doesn't have it in himself to tease right now. He craves the deep, guttural moans Keith releases. "So good." Lance says in a breathless moan.

Keith moans as he moves so that he is sitting on Lance's lap. He pumps Lace faster. "Lance," he groans.

When Keith gets on his lap, lance feels his chest tighten and his stomach burn. He pumps Keith fast and hard as he arches his back and grinds into Keith, solely going on what felt right."This...feeling...its so..." He gasps for air, entirely too overwhelmed to finish his thought.

Keith grinds Lance back, loving the feeling of their dicks being together. He pumps Lance faster and asks softly," Are you close?"

Lance hopes a whine and slight nod will be sufficient before he is able to whimper out, "are you?" As he manages to squeak that out, Lance whines and gasps as he feels himself getting dangerously close.

"Close," Keith says between moans. He wasn't as close as Lance but he is close. He continues to pump Lance, wanting to milk him again.

Lance feels a bubbling of broken moans exit his mouth as he gets closer. Just before he climaxes, Lance pulls Keith down to kiss him. It's a sloppy passionate kiss that mutes a quiet shout as he cums, but he doesn't stop working Keith despite really wanting to just collapse. He decides, instead, to bite Keith as he works him.

Keith moans into the kiss. Pleasure from the bites goes straight to his dick. His moans become short but more frequent as he feels himself about to burst. He pulls away to breath but instead of going back to kiss again, he buries his face in Lance's neck as he cums.

Lance kisses Keith's neck as he feels him release then finally relaxes back onto the couch, tiredly pulling his hand to his mouth to clean up again. He keeps his eyes open, admiring Keith's orgasmic face and shivers.

Keith rolls off of Lance and looks at his hand. It's covered in Lance's cum but he just couldn't bring himself to even try licking it. He feels a bit disappointed in himself. "Do you want to go back to the room?" Keith asks softly.

"My legs feel weak." Lance laughs. "I don't think I can walk yet." He says with a slight pink color to his cheeks. "Your hands are too good." He looks back at the black box and laughs. "I didn't see how it ended." He chuckles when he realizes the movie is back at the menu.

Keith looks at the screen, having forgotten for a moment that they were watching a movie. "Do you want me to tell you how it ends or watch it again later?"

"Tell me. I like your voice better than hers anyway." Lance cuddles in and kisses Keith's neck then pulls up his leggings, feeling a bit cold. "How are you not always cold?" Lance grabs a blanket and starts to cover himself up. As he does, the door to Matt's room bursts open.

"I'm not looking!" He shouts. "Just need coffee. You two keep doing your thing." He uses his hand to blindly walk down the hall.

"Matt!" Shiro yells from the bedroom. "Get back here!" Keith looks over at Matt like he is insane. "You can get coffee later!"

Lance jumps and, since humans are supposed to have leg clothes, quickly covers Keith and cuddles into him.

"Do you want me to die? My heart will stop! I need it!" Matt says dramatically.

"No you don't!" Shiro yelled. "Sorry Keith, Lance!"

"Well..." Keith trails off, trying to change topic. "The octopus turns herself into a pretty woman and uses Ariel's voice to sing for the prince. He almost marries the octopus but Ariel gets her voice back. The octopus gets angry so they kill her and they live happily ever after," Keith sums up the end of the movie the best he can. He doesn't use a lot of the details.

"Did they eat the octopus?" Lance asks. As he runs his hands up Keith's legs and back. "It would be a waste otherwise." He tilts his head. "And how rude to steal her voice."

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Matt slinks back down the hall, full mug in hand then closes the door. "I should just get one of those baby coffee pots for in here." He says as he exhaled.

"You could have also just waited or not announced your presence," Shiro sighed.

"Wouldn't it have been creepier to not announce myself? Like that feels very creeperish to me." Matt takes a drink of his coffee and sighs. "Whatever. Worth it."

Shiro sighs and goes back to reading. He is almost done with the book.

Matt guzzles half of his coffee before slipping onto Shiro's lap like a cat and smiling up at him. "Yoga later? We can invite fish- Lance and Keith."

Shiro lifts his book up to look down at Matt. "Sure. You going to plan the poses before hand?"

"Nah. I'll just play one of the videos on netflix or something." He nuzzles into Shiro, really sticking to the "kitty persona". Shiro chuckles and plays along. He starts petting and scratching Matt's head. Matt hums then stretches out. Apparently he is bored since he was determined to "not work" on his day off. "Nyaa~." He says before pawing at Shiro's bangs.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"They did not eat her," Keith says, trying to imagine someone eating purple and black octopus tentacles.

"But an octopus of that size would have been so many meals! And octopus is so good!" Lance seems offended then sighs before hugging Keith close. "I like how it ended with us much better." He purrs.

Keith purrs. "I like our story better too." He nuzzles into Lance.

"Did you want to get cleaned up?" Lance asks, face buried in Keith's hair. "Humans like being clean right?" He says in a silly tone. "I could help!" It sounds like an innocent enough request. Likely because he doesn't see nudity as inherently sexual.

Keith chuckles. "Sure." He kisses Lance's forehead and asks,"Can you walk? I can carry you to the room."

Lance blushes a little. "I could probably walk." He looks back to Keith. "But I might like it if you carry me."

Keith smiles and stands up. He gathers their clothes and hands them to Lance before picking up his boyfriend bridal style. "This okay?"

Lance looks disgustingly pleased. He kisses Keith's neck then wraps his arms around his neck. "If it's comfortable to you it's wonderful." His voice is sing songy.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Shiro laughs and tries to keep Matt away from his hair. "No, my hair is not a toy."

"But it's so fluffy nya!" Matt goes for it again, trying to get Shiro to put down the book.

"It's not fluffy," Shiro argues. He tries to push Matt away but it's hard with one hand. Only until Matt starts being able to maneuver around his hand does Shiro put his book down to use both hands.

"Fl-uff-yyyy~" he goes after it again before nuzzling into his chest. "Play with meeeee." He says teasingly.

"Aren't we already playing," Shiro laughs as he scratches Matt's head again.

"Now that you put the book down yeah." Matt kitty says with his "paws" next to his jawline. "I didn't have you take the day off to spend it studying." He stretches again, sprawling across Shiro with a smile.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Keith smiles and walks to his room. He sets Lance on the bed so he could gather new clothes for them to put on afterwards. "Do you want to pick your clothes?"

Lance shakes his head and smiles. "Pick for me." He laughs then spins circles to make his nest. "So can I help you?" He asks once bundled into the blankets.

"Yeah but I'll show you first okay?" Keith places clothes on the edge of the bed. He then picks up Lance again and carries him to the bathroom.

Lance hums happily and kisses up and down Keith's neck before he nuzzles in. He waits for Keith to prep the water and stubbornly starts to undress himself. He is determined to figure this out.

Keith throws off the rest of his clothes before stepping into the water. It's nice and warm. He gathers his shampoo and conditioner into the closes corner of the shower to that it would be easy for Lance. "I'll wash your hair, then you can wash mine," Keith says as he watches Lance undress.

When lance gets into the water he looks momentarily surprised. "Is this water from a hot spring? I didn't know there were hot springs around here. Or is there fire...?" He stops rambling and steps next to Keith with a smile. "I like that."

"There is a boiler that heats up the water." Keith isn't sure how to explain boil so he leaves it at that. He combs his hands through Lance's hair as it starts to get soaked. "I'm going to put shampoo in your hair and spread it," Keith says as he grabs the shampoo bottle. He shows Lance the bottle and squirts a little bit into his hand. He leads Lance out of the water and messages the shampoo into Lance's hair.

Lance listens curiously then hums, clearly enjoying the feeling of Keith's hands in his hair. "That smells nice." He says, referring to the shampoo.

"I think you'll like the conditioner more." Keith gently pulls Lance back into the water. He makes sure that no shampoo runs into Lance's eyes as he washes it away. Once it's gone, he gently pushes Lance out of the water and repeats the process with the conditioner.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"But I like to read," Shiro pouts. "Plus, you were busy doing your tinkering." He gestures towards the desk and all the junk on top of it.

"Well I stopped." He says playfully. "Should I try to cook lunch?" He asks with a laugh.

"If you really want to. We don't have too much ingredients though," Shiro says.

"You'd trust me in the kitchen?!" Matt exclaims before jolting up and bounding toward the door. "Chemistry time!"

Shiro sighs. Not fully trusting Matt, he gets up and follows his boyfriend to the kitchen.

By the time shiro has reached the kitchen, Matt was leaning on the counter and laughing. "You really think I was gonna cook?!" He point to the kettle on the stove. "Ramen. I'm making ramen."

Shiro sighs in relief. "I can't assume anything with you. You are the type of person who could even mess up making ramen." It's not like he is all that better though.

"I have messed up ramen!" He laughs for a minute. "Remember finals week at the garrison and I forgot to put freaking water in it?!" Matt cuddles up to Shiro. "Do you think Lance will be able to do yoga?" He asks suddenly thoughtful.

"Probably not? I can't even do yoga properly."

"I know." Matt whines a little. "We have got to loose. You up a bit first." He raises an eyebrow. "I bet it'd help." He darts to the pantry before Shiro could react and starts to pull out bowls of ramen.

"Chicken? Beef? Or...you got a Kimchi one? Or did I grab that?" Matt holds up one bowl in each hand then grabs the third in his teeth, tilting his head playfully as he hops up to Shiro.

"You grabbed it," Shiro laughs. He helps Matt put the bowls on the counter. "How do you not remember that but you can remember all your tech stuff?"

"Well you see, it's like my desk," Matt starts as he peels open the kimchi ramen, "It has lots of room for tools and parts and stuff, but only maybe two things off coffee." He smiles over at Shiro then sticks his tongue out. "There's only so much room for non important stuff."

Shiro sighs and shakes his head.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Lance is so clearly in heaven that he is practically mush in Keith's fingers. "This feels like a gentle waterfall but...it's warm and you are with me." Once his hair is rinsed, lance leans forward and kisses Keith again, pulling back far enough to look Keith over with a slight blush on his cheeks. "You are so beautiful in the water."

Keith blushes at the comment. "I think you're just biased," he mumbles and hands Lance the shampoo bottle. "You only need a little bit." Keith holds out on hand palm up and draws a circle on it with his finger. "About this much."

"So what if I am?" Lance smiles then traces the circle on Keith's palm with a warm smile. "I can still think it." He carefully pouts some of the shampoo into one of his hands and starts to massage Keith's scalp. He can't help but laugh a little at the feeling of the bubbles on his fingers. "I love everything about this."

Keith closes his eyes and purrs. He loves the feeling on Lance's fingers in his hair. "It is really nice," he says softly.

As he rinsed the shampoo from Keith's hair, Lance leans in and kisses Keith with a pleased hum. "You want conditioner too right?"

Keith hums back and nods. He already misses Lance messaging his head. "After conditioner, we soup our bodies," he informs.

"I like your body." Lance says with a laugh as he starts to work the conditioner in. "Do I get to massage it like this?"

"Soap doesn't require a lot but if you want to massage it in, you can," Keith shrugs.

Lance nods and rubs the soap in before gently running his hands in circles, massaging Keith's skin as he leans in to kiss his neck over and over. "I just want to touch you." He says quietly.

"So much skinship," Keith teases. "Does my skin feel amazing or it is just because it's me?" He already knows the answer but it's nice to hear it.

"Is that a problem?" Lance kisses again, the other side of Keith's neck this time. "How about...your skin feels amazing because it's yours." He grins then spoons him in a warm hug, touching Keith's chest with crossed hands before resting his head on Keith's shoulder. "You smell nice." He hums.

Keith hums back and nuzzles into Lance's neck. "You do too but It's my turn to soap you down." He waits for Lance to release him before quickly soaping Lance's body. Keith is assuming that Lance wants to hug again as soon as possible, plus he can always massage Lance later.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"Don't you sigh at me!" Matt pokes Shiro with his finger playfully. "At least I remember your birthday!" He says with a teasing smile and raised eyebrow.

"I only forgot that one time!" Shiro argues, throwing his hands up into the air.

"That's one more time than me!" Matt teases, poking Matt's chest again. "I even remember when it's your real birthday." He gives a bit smile. "I'll owe you an entire cheesecake if you can tell me our anniversary without looking at the calendar."

Shiro glares at Matt and answers,"April 15th."

"Yes! Even if when I first asked you out, you thought it was like...a belated April fool's joke. Rude by the way. So, turtle cheesecake?" Matt fist pumps and dances a little in place then grabs a magnet off the fridge. "Or chocolate strawberry?" He slides next to Shiro and kisses his cheek. "I just wanted an excuse to buy cheesecake. You had to have known that. "  
"You and your cheese cake. I don't mind the turtle one and in my defense, you play april fool jokes through the entire month of April."

"But I would never joke about true love!" Matt touches his chest dramatically and takes a knee as he continues. "It's the one pure left left on this foul planet and I wish only to share it with you and you alone! I will spend my mornings thinking I'm dreaming and my dreams wishing I was awake with you!" He grabs Shiro's hand and playfully kisses it. "And turtle cheesecake is my second love. How did you know!?"

Shiro rolls his eyes despite the growing blush on his face. "Because you always get it when we go there."

"Don't act like you don't miss my humor when I'm gone." Matt stands up and puffs himself up to "look like" Shiro then playfully mocks his voice with his eyes closed as if to prove a point. "I'm too stoic for romance even though I'm a huge ball of mush when my boyfriend is romantic." He peeks over to Shiro before realizing the kettle was now whistling - and likely had been for a while - he was too busy being silly. "Crap! The ramen water!"

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Lance watches Keith with calm eyes. He is so stupidly in love with this human that it almost hurts. Touching his chest, Lance scrunches his eyebrows together, thinking harder about whether that was normal or not that's normal than he realizes.

Once Keith is done and the soap is all washed away, he goes to hug Lance but notices his expression. "Does something hurt? Is the water too hot for you?"

"Is it normal for your heart to hurt because you love someone so much?" Lance questions, still so focused he's missing the look on Keith's face. "Maybe it's just a human thing?"

Keith relaxes. "If you've never felt it before then yeah, it's probably a human thing." He smiles gently as he rubs his thumb across Lance's cheek.

Lance grabs Keith's hand and puts it on his chest then steps in close. "I always feel so much better when you're touching me." He laughs a bit. "It's like...my heart stops hurting because it knows you are here." Lance nuzzles Keith's cheek with his then puts his hand over Keith's heart.

Keith's heart is also beating fast. He doesn't know what to say but he really wants to hug Lance.

Lance can feel Keith's' heart racing and he smiles before pulling him in close. "I love you so much it hurts." He kisses Keith's ear while repeating a few more times; interrupted only by more kisses, "I love you, I love you," Singing it a little more every time he says it. 

Keith feels his face heat up and his heart beat faster. "I love you too," he whispers as he hides his flushed face in Lances shoulder. "We should probably get dry." He loves hearing Lance express his love for him but he also can't take it. It feels like he will dye from his heart beating too fast.

"Hmm yeah, humans need to be dry sometimes or they get all wrinkly right?" Lance waits for Keith to turn off the water, only barely letting go of Keith as he does. When Keith grabs a towel, Lance does the same. "So, what is something else you enjoy doing? I want to learn as much about you and your friends as I can." His smile is so vibrant that his honesty can be seen as much as heard.

Keith smiles and nuzzles his nose against Lance's cheek. "I have a small collection of knives," Keith blurts out, getting a little excited at the thought of showing it off. He quickly drys himself before putting the towel back on the towel rack.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"You can't even boil water properly," Shiro laughs. He knows it's his fault in a way since he is here distracting Matt. Matt isn't good at multitasking, at all.

"Oh shut it." Matt says playfully as he pours water into the bowls before covering the lids with spoons. "Flirting with you is way more fun than watching water boil." He gives Shiro the side eye before putting the water back down and stepping in front of Shiro with his arms crossed.

"At least the water didn't boil over this time," Shiro smiles.

"No, the water didn't boil over," Matt smirks then continues, "but my heart did! With overflowing love for you!"

"Vomit." Pidge interrupts, claiming one of the bowls of ramen for themselves with one hand while still doing calculations with the other. "Thanks for the food though."

"Pidge, you're going to spill. You have to use both hands," Shiro said, having instantly gone to dad mode.

"Sure thing dad." Pidge says, though doesn't carry the bowl any different. In no time, they are back in their room. Matt slides back into Shiro's view. "So...plans after yoga?" He says deviously.

"Do you have plans?" Shiro asks with a raised eyebrow, knowing Matt is scheming something.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Seeing Keith get excited makes Lance smile so he dries himself off, not quite as quickly as Keith since he's still not as coordinated with this new skeletal system as he'd like to be, but he tries to follow as quick as he can. "Do you just collect them or are they for hunting and such?" Lance thinks back to his collection in his cave. "If I can ever get back down there, I have an opal dagger I should give you."

"There isn't really anything I can hunt here so I just collect them. Sometimes I carry one around in case I need to fight off someone." Keith grabs his towel again and drys Lance's hair for him, despite not having properly dried his own. "And an opal dagger sounds like it looks really cool."

"I never had much use for knives." Lance says then smiles when Keith dries his hair. "Well, besides using one to cut my hair every once in a while." He grins when Keith says he'd likely enjoy the dagger Lance had. "It's amazing. So many colors and it catches the sunlight so well." Lance takes the towel from his head and playfully dries Keith's before leaning in with the towel still on Keith's head to kiss him. "Well, lead the way love."

Keith blushes and holds onto Lance's wrist as he leads back to the bed. He moves the clothes he had gotten out for Lance so it was in a pile of its own.

Lance stares at the pile of clothes as if it was some evil creature but doesn't ask for help. He picks up the boxers and glances to see how Keith puts them on before making the same motions. Thankfully, these pants don't have buttons so it's easier to get on, but he ignores the shirt for the time being before laying back down on the bed to watch Keith. "Shirts are still weird." He says plainly.

Keith finishes putting his shirt on before joining Lance in bed. "You don't technically have to wear a shirt," Keith says as he cuddles into Lance. "Males chest aren't considered something that needs to be hidden."

"Then why hide yours?" Lance teases. "Yours is nicer than mine anyway." He adds before pulling Keith on top of him with a smile. "I thought you were showing me daggers," he runs his fingers along Keith's neck and smiles, "Not that I mind. This is rather enjoyable on its own."

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"Why do I have to have something planned?" He says innocently before putting his arms behind his back. "I just thought we could go on a walk or something." His phone buzzes then so he checks it before shouting, "Screw you pidgeon!" Even though he says this, Matt blushes even if it is just a little.

Shiro notices and gets incredibly curious. Matt never blushes. The only other time was when he confessed to Shiro. He tries to peak at Matt's phone.

Matt quickly puts his phone away and playfully glares at Shiro. "Never the technology. That's mine. Dangerous things happen when my technology is played with." He grabs his ramen and starts to eat. "But really...just the two of us, somewhere later?" He asks once his mouth is empty.

"Yeah. It would be nice to be actually alone." He leans his head on Matt's shoulder as he starts to eat.

Matt nuzzles then takes another bite before offering a bit of his kimchi bowl to Shiro. "It's only a tiny bit spicy I swear." He lies while turning the bowl so the 'very hot' logo isn't facing Shiro.

Shiro glares at Matt. He knows that Matt is lying since he was the one who bought them but he decided to humor him. He eats the bite and is instantly fanning his mouth.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"It's not hard to reach them from here." Balancing himself on one hand and his knees, Keith reaches for the drawer of the side table and grabs one.

Lance puts both hands on Keith's legs when he reaches over. He watches Keith, doing a good job of keeping himself calm despite seeing a blade, and smiles when he sees the adorable look of excitement on Keith's face.

"This is my favorite. I always grab this one when I want to go out late at night." He looks over the blade one more time before looking at Lance. "I could show you a trick," he says as his eyes shine more.

Lance reaches up and runs his fingers along Keith's cheek. "I'd love to see it." He laughs a bit as he rubs gentle circles on Keith's cheek. "You don't get to show off often do you?"

"All of my friends have already seen it and it's not like I'll go around showing to random people." Keith moves off Lance so that the former siren can sit up. Once Lance is comfortable, Keith starts doing some flip tricks.

Lance smiles warmly and watches Keith. His nerves get a bit...jolty when the dagger flies but it is rather fascinating to watch. He rolls onto his side and his smile grows. "You can do such interesting things." Lance says with a giggle. "I never thought to try tricks with my dagger. I just liked to look at it."

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Matt nearly spits out his food when Shiro actually tries the food. He instantly grabs a cup of milk, all while laughing, and hands it to Shiro. "Oh my god I can't believe you! You know my 'not spicy' is so not yours." Taking Shiro's bowl to replace it with milk, Matt sighs and laughs. "This is comedy gold though."

Shiro quickly gulps down the milk. Once his tongue no longer feels like it's on fire, he lowers the cup and gasps for air. "At least I can humor you every now and then," Shiro says before sticking his tongue out to air it.

Matt kisses Shiro's cheek playfully. "True. So, better or worse than the 'radish' you thought you were cleverly stealing from my thai food?" He asks before laughing again.

"Better cause I actually knew what I was getting myself into," Shiro glares at Matt and retrades the milk for his food.

"Hey! That was all you!" Matt bumps Shiro and tries to hide the fact that his nerves are boiling over, maybe worse than the kettle a bit ago, by eating more of the ramen. "You know I order my food extra spicy. So why would it have been a radish?"

"It looked like a radish! It was a new place so I didn't know," Shiro defended himself.

Matt rubs his shoulder into Shiro with a smile. "It's ok. It will forever be my favorite thai food memory with you." With his food now finished, Matt realizes the boys hadn't come out of the room yet. "Should I let them know there's hot water for ramen or...leave them?"

"We should tell them. You know Keith forgets to eat sometimes." He sets his empty bowl down and starts to get off the bed.

"Want me to risk it?" Matt asks teasingly. "I'd hate for you to see unsavory things happening to your baby bro." He snatches up the bowl and kisses Shiro's nose. "I've got this. Finish your book."

Shiro smiles with his eyes closed. "Thank you." As Matt leaves, he picks up his book. Just two more chapters left.

Matt secretly watches Shiro from the doorway for a second then clears his throat before walking away. Shaking out his hands before grumpily texting Pidge,  
/HE WAS RIGHT THERE! HE TRIED TO LOOK AT MY PHONE DAMNIT./

/Haha oops/

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"Shiro always stopped me from doing tricks when I got my first one. He was scared I would accidentally cut off a toe." Keith reaches back into the drawer and pulls out a different dagger. This one is slightly bigger and the blade is practically a rainbow. "I have a few that are really nice to look at."

"A protector's job is other's safety." Lance nuzzles Keith. "But I can see you never cut off a toe." He watches as Keith pulls out the other dagger and is eyes go wide. "It's beautiful." His hands reach out before he realizes it then pulls back. "Can I?" He ask, not realizing he's giving Keith puppy eyes.

Keith blushes slightly and almost chuckles. Lance is unbelievable cute. "Go ahead." He holds out the dagger for Lance, sharp side facing Keith.

Lance takes the weapon with careful hands. He runs his fingers along the flat end of the blade, turning it a bit to enjoy how the blade changes. "My opal one has a lot of colors like this. But it's nowhere near as smooth." He says before handing the blade back with a smile. "Thank you."

Keith's smiles gets a little bigger. It's still weird hearing Lance say 'thank you' alot. "These types are really popular since most people want it just for the looks." He puts the dagger back and pulls out a butterfly knife of the same rainbow like color.

"Do these have different purposes?" He asks as he sits up closer to Keith. Resting his head on Keith's shoulder and releasing a quiet sigh, Lance grins. He doesn't want to admit he just likes hearing Keith talk.

"Not really but there is a lot cooler tricks I can do with these," he says before doing some.

Lance watches him with mesmerized eyes before laughing a bit. "If I tried that, I would lose...something for sure. " He looks at his hands. "You are far more coordinated than I am. Well, than I am know." Looking back to Keith, Lance grins. "I'm lucky to have such an amazing human."

"There people who are way better at this than I am. Some people can do one in each hand at the same time!" He stops twirling the knife and holds it out for Lance. "The tricks make sure you never touch the sharp side."

"But the other people aren't my Keith." He smiles then looks surprised when Keith hands him this one. Looking it over, Lance looks it over and nearly considers trying to toss it up when the door squeaks open.

"Just me!" Matt clears his throat, hoping he doesn't sound too nervous. Fuck. Why is he getting nervous now? Shaking his head, he finishes. "I boiled water and got ramen all set for you guys. Don't forget to eat ok?"

Keith looks at the door when it opens. Keith nods and says," Thanks. We'll eat in a bit." He waits for Matt to leave before turning back to Lance. "Do you want me to teach you a simple trick first or go eat?"

"But- but what if I ruin it or mess up or something?" He looks excited at the aspect but is also a bit worried to mess up something of Keith's. "I mean, I can barely get dressed on my own you know?" Despite arguing, Lance still holds the blade.

"This one will just be a simple flip." He positions the blade correctly in Lance's hand and moves the other parts to show Lance how it will move. "Like that."

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

/i'm getting fucking nervous. wth./  
Matt says this then peeks back in the room. "Still reading?" He asks.

/You said the same thing right before you confessed to Shiro. You'll be fine./

Shiro doesn't look up from his book but answers,"Just a few more pages." Matt grins at him and watches him with a cute smile from the doorway.

/yeah but what if he realizes what a geek I am and what a sassy sibling he'd get and is just like "you know...no"/

/If he didn't like it, he would have broken up with you already/

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Lance is listening. He really was. But somehow every word was forgotten as he got distracted by the feeling of Keith's hands and how his eyes look when he's excited. Once he realizes Keith is looking for him to move, Lance grins bashfully. "Can you show me again and I will try harder to pay attention."

Keith shakes his head in disbelief but smiles at Lance. "You're just gonna flip it open," he says as he shows Lance how the other parts will move.

Lance smiles and nods, he repeats back what Keith told him then gives it a go. He seems nervous but does it. At that, he turns to Keith with a huge smile. "Did you see it? I did it!" He giggles a bit.

Keith smiles. "Then you can close it again." Keith flicks his wrist, showing Lance.

Lance does it then laughs excitedly before doing both things again and laughing. "I love how it catches the light when you do that." Lance says before carefully handing it back. "Should we go eat?"

"Yeah, should I carry you again?" Keith smirks.

Lance blushes a little and smiles but shakes his head. "I can walk. I don't want to make you carry me." He crawls up to Keith, adorably facing him on all fours before kissing his neck and nuzzling his cheek. "But if you wanted to carry me that's fine."

Keith nuzzles back and scoops up Lance in his arms. He places the butterfly knife on top of the night stand and carries Lance to the living room. 

Lance wraps his arms around Keith and playfully nuzzles him all the way out. He kisses Keith's neck a few times and laughs.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Matt takes a deep breath, finally moving away from the doorway to go turn on the tv and find a yoga video. Seeing the last thing played, he can't help but laugh out loud as he goes through the list.

/yoga in a bit. I'm gonna get fishboy and Keith in on it too. And shiro duh. Wanna join? You could probably get fishboy to tell you stuff about siren life. Shiro said he was chatty earlier./

/I'LL JOIN/ Pidge hates yoga but getting info is always worth it.

Matt grins and nods before scooting back to rest his head against the couch while sitting on the floor. He closes his eyes, calming himself a bit before everyone else joins.

Pidge practically runs into the living room and takes their usual seat. Shiro has what looks like about 10 pages left.

When Pidge joins, Matt looks over and can't hide the nervous look in his eyes. "Tell me this isn't stupid. I know we just went through this a couple days ago but, its not stupid right? It won't be too much?" He covers his face with both hands, running them down his face with a groan.

"Matt... You'll be fine. It can't go worse than the last time you were like this," Pidge says with a straight face, as if tired of Matt fretting over all this.

"I dunno. Maybe we will find a centaur this time." He tries to lighten up and it gets worlds easier when Keith and Lance walk in. "Look it's prince Eric! Make way, make way." He hops up before darting back into the kitchen, sure that the hot water won't be hot anymore. "We're doing yoga once Shiro is done with his book." He says as if giving Keith no choice.

Keith looks at Matt really confused. "What?" Did Matt just call him Prince Eric? He must have heard wrong. "But we came down for food." He sets Lance down on the loveseat before going to to the kitchen.

"What, what? I mean I only told you guys about it like ten minutes ago." Matt fumbles the knob of the stove, trying to turn it on for Keith. Anything to distract himself at this point. He hopes Keith doesn't notice the fumble. He's not usually that bad in the kitchen anyway. 

Keith is too busy trying to pick a ramen flavor that he thinks Lance would like best to notice.

Matt exhaled when he can tell Keith hasn't seen him mess up. "Give him oriental." Matt says before pointing to the bowl. "It's basically just salty and he liked the chips right?" Keith nods and grabs the bowl. He grabs the chicken one for himself.

Matt goes to grab the oven mitt (he'd forgotten to move the handle on the kettle and it's now crazy hot) and in the process manages to knock over their metal container of mixing spoons and spatulas. Instead of letting them just fall, he tries to catch them, which only results in a bigger mess and Matt holding the one spatula he manages to catch. "Are you serious right now?" He asks himself before shaking his head.

Shiro puts down his now finished book and heads to the kitchen. Just before he enters he hears clanging and things falling. "Everything okay in here?" He asks as he enters.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Lance looks over at pidge, seeing them using their message box, and is still curious how that little box does things. He doesn't say anything really, just watches Pidge with big, curious eyes.

Pidge can feel eyes on them so they look up and meet Lance's. "You can come look, just don't ask too much," they say before going back to what they were doing. 

Lance excitedly bounds over next to pidge, watching them fidget with the message box. He has about 100 question s he wants to ask, but Pidge said not to ask questions. He puts the tips of his fingers in his mouth to keep himself quiet while watching. Just as with everyone else, he's not so good about personal space. Pidge didn't mind the closeness, everyone does that when they watch them. Especially Hunk and Matt.

Lance sees them do something especially colorful and finally points at it. "What's that?" He asks then shakes his head. "Sorry. Didn't mean to." Then he just eyes the screen some more.

"It's code," Pidge answers. "Sometimes it's colorful." They never said to not ask any questions, just not too many.

When pidge answers, Lance takes that as the signal that felt was ok to ask questions now. "Code. I've only heard Morse code. Is that a different kind of message? Can it talk to people too?" He asks excitedly.

"This is to talk to the device. To tell it what to do," Pidge answers, keeping their vocab to something Lance would understand. 

Lance kinks his head. "Why do you want to talk to the message box? Does it talk back?" He is intensely engaged with the stuff moving on the screen despite having no idea what any of it is.

"This one does not but if I tell it to be able to play videos, it will. It follow commands silently." Pidge cracks their neck without looking away from the screen.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"I was just trying to make sure you had a grand entrance is all!" Matt laughs then adds water to both Keith and Lance's ramen then puts the spoons over the kids before bending down to start picking up the fallen dishes. "Good book?"

"Yeah. It was written very well." Shiro walks over and helps pick everything up along with Keith.

"You guys! I can do this. I'm the one that knocked it over!" Matt tries to wave them both away. "You go wrangle Lance, Prince Eric." Matt playfully pushes Keith away. 

"Why are you calling me that?!"

Matt grins then grabs a fork out of the drawer. "Maybe you should give your princess a dinglehopper?" He grins the shrugs a shoulder toward the tv. "I picked out a yoga video and saw the last thing watched. It's too good." Matt pours all the spilled dishes into the sink and sighs. "Day off. I'm not cleaning these." Then he bumps Shiro's hip. "Pokemon go after yoga? My army isn't complete yet."

"Damn it Matt," Keith facepalms. He brings the food to the living room and places both bowls on the table. Shiro chuckles before turning to look at Matt.

"Sure. Who else do you need?"

Matt grins and laughs a bit. "Who else do I need?" Matt pulls out his phone and laughs. "Have I never actually showed you my "army" on my secondary account?" Matt can hear Pidge groaning from here but he just smiles bigger.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... …**

"And you get it to do that by hitting the squiggles?" Lance watches with wide eyes. "That's super cool!"

"Yup!" Pidge exclaims. It's kinda fun having someone who understands nothing watch them. 

Lance sees Keith come up and scoots closer to where he is while still trying to watch pidge. "I like you small orange hair." He says before cuddling Keith and taking a deep breath of the food.

"My name is Pidge." They adjust their glasses as they look at Lance then quickly goes back to their coding.

"You have the salty one," Keith informs Lance.

"Pidge," Lance repeats then nods. "I like that name!" He smiles brilliantly then grabs the bowl and tries to take a bite. " Hot!" He almost spits out the food.

Keith takes the bowl from Lance. "It's still hot, you have to wait." He should have warned Lance beforehand.

Lance nods then cuddles into Keith before saying, "like you." Sure, he means temperature and doesn't realize that's a super cheesy pick up type line but still…

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"No. When did you make a second account?" Shiro is only even more confused when Pidge reacts.

"So remember two weeks ago when you and Keith were swimming and I wandered around the beach ' like an idiot's as I recall some little bird saying." He glares over to pidge then turns his phone toward shiro. "MAGIKARP ARMY!" he laughs some more then waves his hand.

"Are you really going to catch only magikarp?" Shiro asks. He can't believe how crazy Matt is. That's a lie. He has always known.

"Only MAGIKARP!" He bounces next to Shiro to show off his catches already. "These little bastards I only have like...74 so far apparently. It's gonna be great!

"Only 74." That's totally not a lot for one pokemon. "Are you going you evolve any of them?"  
Keith blushes. He can't tell if Lance just let that slip or if he somehow learned it. His face is so red right now.

Matt laughs. "No I want to power them all up. Splash and flop my enemies to death." He starts laughing harder just picturing it. "Maybe after my bank is full I will start evolving them all then have a gyarados army next!"

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Lance sees Keith blush so he grins and nuzzles into him, only bing interrupted by Matt poking the back of Keith's head. "Eaaaaat so we can do yogaaaa."

Shiro shakes his head and follows Matt back to the living room. "It's still hot," Keith says as he swats Matt's hand away.

"Then blow on it!" Matt whines. "You're all so boring today." He is jittery. More so than he realizes as his fusses with the controller, getting the video started up so he can pause just past 'the opening bullshit' as he calls it. 

Lance can't help but be mesmerized by the moving pictures - no no, movie - again. Its so bright and colorful that he finds his eyes just instantly glued to the screen. He finally picks up the bowl and watches Keith roll his eyes and blow on the food. Skipping the eye roll - as he wasn't sure how to do it - Lance blows on his food too. Not wanting to upset the tall orange hair - why do they keep calling him mat? Isn't that a small floor blanket?

Keith starts to eat but his first few bites are agonisingly slow just to piss Matt off. Matt actually looks like he might cry watching Keith but he doesn't dare let shiro see that. He knows pidge can...but pidge already knows how crazy his nerves are right now.

Lance isn't sure why Keith is eating so slow. But once the food is cooled enough, lance finds it easier to swallow the food basically whole. It's such a pain to get on the fork and it's not like the noodles are big. However, Lance is fully baffled by Matt's reaction to it. The taller red hair watches Lance scarf down the food and laughs a bit before putting a hand on Keith's knee and wiggling an eyebrow at him. "Lucky guy." He says before bursting out laughing.

Keith narrows his eyes at Matt, not sure what that reaction was for. Only Pidge can even fathom what is running through their brother's head. After the first few slow bites, Keith eats at his normal pace which is somewhat fast compared to an average person. Once done, he takes both his and Lance plate to the kitchen. He comes back and cuddles with Lance again.

Lance wraps himself around Keith, jumping a little when Matt hopped up and tugged at Keith. "I said yoga not cuddles. You have all day for that." 

Lance kinks his head a little. "What's yoga? Is it important?"

"It's stretching in weird poses." He nuzzles more into Lance then looks at Matt. "Why don't you show us the pose then we'll do it. The room doesn't have enough room for all five of us to do yoga at the same time."

Feeling determined, Matt shoves the couch to the far side of the room and puts the coffee table on top of it to make way more room. "Plenty of room." He says in a huff before sitting down and starting to do a relaxing pose. "I haven't done this video before." He shrugs then makes grabby hands at Shiro. "Well let me massage your back a bit, see if we can't get you loosened up a bit first."

Lance grins. He likes massaging Keith too. Quickly, he starts to rub Keith's shoulders. "Is it good for you then?"

Shiro hums softly. "I'm not sure this will help." He loves the message though.  
Keith sighs but melts at Lance's touch. "Yeah, yoga is good for you."

After a bit of massage, Matt starts the video, way too lost in his own head to keep massaging. He knows the pose names so he hits them pretty quick before peeking back. "Well come on guys! You too Lance, give it a try!" 

Lance doesn't want to stop touching Keith however, but, it felt nice to be included. Even if whatever Matt was doing looks impossible to him.

"Can't you pause the video? Not all of us know the poses by heart," Pidge complains. Shiro is trying but he can't quite reach the floor, Keith on the other hand is getting them perfectly. He goes slow since he already knows Lance would look at him if he can't follow the girl on the tv.

"Where's the fun in that?" Matt Laughs wholeheartedly then watches as Lance furrows his eyebrows, seriously trying to figure out how this works. His body didn't feel like it could move like that. Not realizing he's talking out loud, "if I were a siren this would be easy. What's wrong with my human form. It should do that too. Ugh." He tries and fails again before sitting on the ground in a huff.

"Do you want me to hold you?" Keith asks as he stands up straight again. 

"It's okay Lance, I can't do this either," Shiro said, looking back at Lance while still trying to get the pose right.

"It's just so annoying to be so...so..." Lance bites his tongue. You're in a room full of humans, he reminds himself, slow down. Be nice. "I can't do it." He just pouts.

Matt huffs and pauses the video before standing up and grabbing Lance. He'd helped others figure this shit out. Can't be too hard to teach a siren too. He moves Lance's limbs, not giving him the chance to argue. "You're too tense. Lighten up. No one is going to - well i'll laugh if you fall or something but I laugh at everyone. Just relax and try not to think so hard."

Lance tries to do as Matt says and eventually, with orange hair's help, he is in one of the poses and feeling oddly proud. However...it kind of hurts. Surely the discomfort shows on his face.

"You don't have to hold the pose if it hurts," Keith says. Shiro sighs and gives up. He isn't flexible enough.

"It feels odd." Lance tries to untangle himself and topples over before grumpily crossing his arms. "Yoga is stupid." 

Matt laughs and pats Lance's back. "If you practice I bet you'd be better than this guy." He says before walking up to Shiro and messing up his hair. "Pokemon go time? I wanna catch those magikarp." He thinks his voice cracks. But hopefully he was just imagining it.

Pidge snickers, obviously having noticed. "It's better than me trying yoga," Shiro says and gets up. He also noticed the voice crack but thinks nothing of it. 

"What do you want to do?" Keith says, leaning his head on Lance's shoulder.

Lance shrugs and seems to instantly calm down When Keith's head hits his shoulder. "Anything you'd like." He says with a smile before cuddling close to Keith. 

Matt glares at Pidge then points at Shiro. "Then get your shoes i'll be right out. Just gotta grab-a thing." He smacks himself in the forehead before darting off then quickly returning. "Let's go build my floppy fish army!"

Pidge rolls their eyes. Shiro pats Pidge's head on his way to the doorway. He slips on his shoes and waits for Matt. "You guys could hang out at the beach," Shiro suggested. Keith looks to Lance to see if he wants to go.

Lance looks both happy and nervous thinking about that but finally nods. "Let's do that!" He smiles then looks over to pidge. "Are you coming or does code not work there?" He asks, honestly just enjoying having more people to talk with.

"I'll come but are you willing to answer some of my question?" Pidge asks.

Lance thinks about it for a second then nods. He still looks a bit nervous about it but, it's not like he feels the need to hide from them anymore.

Matt takes a deep breath as he puts his shoes on, suddenly a bit quieter than he means to be. "I was thinking of going to the park up the way?" He laughs. "The one we got stuck at during that bad storm?" god.. nervous he shakes his hands out before opening the door. Once Shiro is out, Matt looks back at pidge before mouthing "kill me please."

"Sure, we can go there," Shiro says. "Should we set up a meeting point?" One is probably not needed but just in case something happens. Shiro always likes being prepared. 

"The merry go round. But we won't need it." Matt says before grabbing his phone to start to watch for...magikarp...obviously. "It's been a while since just the two of us went on a walk." He says before shoving the phone in his pocket and laughing almost awkwardly.

"It has been a while," Shiro smiles. "See you guys later."


	11. Chapter 11

Keith and Pidge lead the way to the beach, which isn't all that far from the park the older couple is going to. "First question, how did your hair not look like a giant ball of poof when it's dry?" Pidge asked, using their hands to exaggerate the 'poof' part.

"Is hair supposed to poof?" Lance touches his hair then looks to Pidge with his head tilted. "It is much softer and kinda fluffy." He reaches out and touches both Keith and Pidge's hair to compare. "But yours is nicer." He decides then.

"My hair always poofs up after a shower," Pidge groans. Lance has already seen that Keith's hair does not. "Anyways, next question. Did you hatch from an egg? How does the whole reproduction work?"

"Merfolk do hatch from eggs." He nods. "The females usually make a sand nest and then males stay with it in hopes that at least one of the eggs get fertilized." He thinks hard as the reach the sand of the beach. "Maybe one in a hundred or so eggs ever did. It's why we aren't very...populated." He laughs a bit and shrugs. "Are humans born in eggs too? I think I remember one saying they were born just...as a small human. That seems horribly dangerous."

"We are born as small humans, yes," Pidge answers. "How long does it take for you guys to grow? How long is your lifespan?"

Lance laughs and smiles a bit. "I've never had someone seem so interested in me and my kind." He takes a seat in the sand, close enough to the water that it would cover his feet. "We grow to full size within a year. Well, most of us anyway. And we can live forever." He scratches the back of his head. "You know, naturally anyway. Think...lobster. We can get killed but we don't really age so to speak." He grips Keith's hand and leans into him as he sits down.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Matt had all this stupid thing planned but coming out and actually saying it...he glances from Shiro then back to the ground, the slightest hint of pink on his cheeks. "So how you holding up? About the whole Keith thing."

"Lance is a nice guy, he is really trying to be human. I'm glad that they ended up staying on land, I don't think I'd be able to let go of Keith," Shiro answers honestly.

"Yeah fishboyfriend is nice but I think fishboykeith would be hard to get use to." He slips his hand into Shiro's and smiles before running quiet again.

Shiro grips Matt's hand tightly and his smile widens.

Matt looks to Shiro and grins. "How do you do," he waves his hand toward Shiro's face, "That?" He laughs then feels his phone buzz. When he pulls it out, Matt grabs Shiro. "Do t you still need one?" He shows him the Pokemon.

"Oh, I do." Shiro pulls out his phone and opens the game. "How do I do what?" He asks when he taps on the pokemon.

Matt watches Shiro and hopes like hell that shiro stays distracted long enough for him to pull this stupid little pokeball thing out of his jacket pocket. It had been from some little blind bag thing at the store and - maybe not so ironically - had a magical in it. Though seeing it had given Matt the stupidest idea for proposing. He'd put the special ring he'd had made in it and had carried it around for at least a week before telling pidge what he was thinking. And now it was time. And instead of doing like he'd planned, Matt now stands there holding the little pokeball and is frozen.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Keith leans in as well. Lance will out live him, by a lot.

Lance feels the odd droop in Keith's shoulders so he looks over at him and kisses his neck before nuzzling him and clearing his throat. "Though..." He is afraid to say this, as though saying it makes it more real, "since becoming human...I can feel age. I can feel how the muscles pull and strain, and i've only been human a few days." He smiles haphazardly. "So I know humans are much like a lobster with an improperly healed shell."

Keith spots a pretty looking shell and bends down to grab it. He leans against Lance and shows him. "You collect these right?"

Lance looks over at it and his eyes go wide. It's just coincidence Lance tells himself before grabbing the shell and looking it over. "It's very pretty. Thank you."he leans in and nuzzles Keith's cheek then nervously tries to find him an equally as pretty shell. But humans sometimes leave pieces of glass places they shouldn't and Lance didn't realize how a cut would feel on his hand until it was bleeding. Noticing it, he almost panics. "Ah, what do humans do for cuts?"

"Lick it," Pidge whispered to Keith.

"I was going to," he whispers back and grabs Lance's hand. Not caring for the Shiro voice in his head talking about germs. He takes Lance's finger into his mouth and licks the cut.

Lance's face goes pale and he is frozen as Keith puts his finger in his mouth. "Th-this is what -what humans do to stop bleeding?" His voice is a bit panicked, as though he hadn't been prepared for something. I haven't even found him a shell yet! frantically searching around, lance finds a well polished stone and eyes it a bit before just nervously handing it to Keith. coincidence. Stop worrying. You're a siren. Sirens don't get courted.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Shiro is struggling to catch the pokemon. Taking a deep breath, Matt takes his place, posed as he had this morning, one one knee before opening the pokeball and waiting for Shiro to look over. "I really hope I catch this one." He says, drawing Shiro's attention away. The pokeball, once opened has a handwritten note : "I choose you." And then underneath that in almost frantic tiny writing: "so long as you say yes obviously. Omg please say yes."

Shiro looks at Matt and almost drops his phone. His eyes start to water and he covers his mouth to keep himself from squealing or screaming. He gets on his knees and hugs Matt tightly, phone still in hand.

"I'm really hoping that a 'I'm saying yes' hug and not a 'you are such an idiot hug' or it could be a 'I'm saying yes even though you're an idiot." He hugs back tight. "If it makes it better, the ring, those audio lines - so I lied the other day. That weird app that just randomly showed up in your phone was actually totally put there by me. Scan the audio lines and it will be a super annoying an totally cheesy playback of me saying I love you." Matt hugs Shiro tight, heart racing. "Please say this wasn't all too much."

"I love you so much," Shiro whispered with a shaky voice. "Yes because you're my idiot."  
Matt just grips Shiro tighter then laughs. "I'm so glad I spilled spaghettios on you." He laughs again, only a bit louder. "I love you too, well, obviously."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Keith lets Lance's finger slips out of his mouth when he goes to grab the stone. He takes the stone and smiles. "Thank you."

Lance just stares at Keith then looks back at his finger with a hint of pink in his cheeks. Swallowing hard, lance looks back to his finger. "It worked." He squeaks out.

Keith blushes and smiles at Lance. "Should we head to Matt and Shiro?" Pidge asked, not liking being a third wheel.

Lance looks at pidge, eyes still wide and nods. "Ok." He stands, still staring at his finger and gripping the shell in the other. just coincidence he reminds himself again.

Keith holds Lance's hand as Pidge leads the way.  
Lance follows behind with even more uneven than usual steps. He looks at the shell again before pulling it up to his chest. "Th-thank you again."

"Does it mean something?" Keith asks. "You've been acting weird since I gave you the shell."

"I-it..." Lance holds it close and looks down sadly. "It- no I just like it." He refuses to admit what it meant as Keith obviously did it out of coincidence now.

Keith quickly kisses Lance's cheek. "I'm glad you really like it."

Lance smiles brilliantly despite the bit of sadness he feels. "I do." He cuddles into Keith and buries his face into his arm, hoping to hide the slightly sad look on his face.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Matt stands up and pulls Shiro with him before putting the ring on his finger and fist pumping the air. "I got the size right." He laughs a bit. "Let me tell you how much that would have sucked." He intertwined the fingers of the hand without the ring and puts his head on Shiro's shoulder.

Shiro grips Matt's hand tightly. "You're such a dork," he mumbles.

"And you just agreed to stay with me for the rest of my life." He cuddles into him. "Can I kiss you now?"

"You don't need permission for that," Shiro laughs.

As the trio gets there, Matt finally pulls Shiro down for a kiss and can hardly hide how happy he is. When he pulls back, Matt laughs. "I'm gonna have the sexiest husband ever."

Shiro chuckles, his blush darkening. "Gross," Pidge says.

Matt hops over next to Keith and grins playfully. "You cool with having me as an adoptive uncle?" He grins before throwing an arm over Keith's shoulder. When he looks over to Lance, he notices the odd look. So he whispers into Keith's ear, "What's up with fishboyfriend?"

"Shiro isn't my dad and I don't know. I gave him a shall and he's started acting weird. "

"Yeah yeah. Not your dad but close enough." Matt raises an eyebrow and looks back to Lance. "Talk about it. It's something."

Lance continues to run his fingers over the shell and smiles a little at it, apparently oblivious to the two talking about him.

"You're really attached to the shell," Pidge commented. "Is it a siren thing?"

"It's...a merfolk thing. Not really...siren ever." He looks back to Pidge and gives a sad smile. "But it was coincidence. It's fine." Still running his fingers over his shell, Lance smiles.

"Coincidence could also mean fate. Things that never happen don't suddenly happen for a reason," Pidge says.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"So... How did you propose?" Keith asked, watching Shiro looking at the ring.

"With a pokeball, duh." Matt says with a smile before pulling it out to show him. "I was going to do it at the beach and just throw it at him but someone disappeared into the dead zone."

"I'm sorry!" Keith exclaimed then suddenly went wide eyes. "Wait, you were gonna do it then?" He feels really guilty.

Matt laughs and waves a hand. "It's fine, it's fine." He nudges Keith and smiles before pointing over to Lance. "I think it was worth it." Raising an eyebrow, Matt shoots Pidge a text.

/finding anything out? he's quiet./

"But...but...courting rituals don't happen to sirens." He grips it tight then looks to Pidge. "And he doesn't know so it's...it's not fair to think that...it might...but then the fins too." Lance shakes his head and smiles. "But thank you."

Pidge feels bad for Lance. The poor boy is trying not to get his hopes up too high. They'll need to tell Keith about this. Feeling their phone buzz, they check it.  
/Keith did a merfolk courting ritual without realizing it/

Matt just stares at Pidge for a minute then sighs giving them the look of omg really? "Well, uh, I'm going to be kidnapping Shiro for the remainder of the day. Hope you all don't mind." Grabbing Shiro's hand, Matt drags him away.  
/If you want me to do it just tell me. I already almost walked in them on them...doing something.../

Lance looks up to them and smiles. "Bye tall orange hair and Shiro." He says.  
"Kid, I'm Matt. You can use my name." Matt then received a text that made him smile from ear to ear.

/Maybe later. Go have fun with Shiro./

Keith walks up to Lance and nuzzles his nose against Lance's cheek. "You okay?"

Lance smiles the nuzzles back before kissing his neck. "I'm fine." He smiles then nuzzles again before wrapping himself around Keith, still not letting go of the shell as he does. "So, Pidge, you said human young don't have eggs. How long do the young take to mature then." Lance hopes it's not too obvious that he wants to draw the attention off himself.

"Humans take about 18 years to fully mature," Pidge answers. "Can you tell me more about the courting ritual?" At that question, Keith's eyes shine a little. He would love to do something like that for Lance.

"18 years?" Lance questions back. "But that's..." He blushes and looks down. "Sirens don't get courted." His words come quicker than he means them to but his grip on the shell grows a bit tighter. With a sigh she shakes his head and forces a smile. "But you are trying to learn about merfolk and not all of us are sirens." Stalling...he's so totally not stalling. "It's not really that special or anything."

"I would like to know," Keith mumbles softly with a blush. He would like to do it without Lance knowing he plans to but it's not like he can get the information on how to do it properly elsewhere.

"It's courting, of course it's special," Pidge says.

Lance tenses up then looks from Keith to Pidge. "It..." He swallows hard then sighs. "Usually it starts with gifting; like a special gift gathered usually a stone, a piece of coral or something found in the waters...It can be anything, really." Scratching his neck Lance shrugs, "typically it happens because another of the merfolk hear your song and enjoy it. Again, doesn't really happen for sirens since most of us don't sing much." Gripping the seashell closer without realizing it, Lance sighs. "After gifting you..." He blushes a little, half groaning and half glaring at Pidge. "After gifting it's ritual to accept some part of your would be mate. Most pick a scale or something. I don't know." Being purposefully vague, Lance shakes his head. "I guess I never paid that much attention because I'm a siren." He lets out a white lie.

"How would that work for a human?" Keith thinks out loud. He can easily gift things to Lance, he technically already did. Does that count already then? Even though he didn't know before now. "Could I court you? We are already dating according to human terms."

Lance blushes and hides his face. "Humans don't generally court us." He is starting to feel overwhelmed. "But...you already...did?" His words barely squeak out as his face darkens and he pulls the shell up to his chest. "But...dating and courting are...different? So it's more important you're just happy."

Keith smiles, he loves blushing Lance. He nuzzles into Lance's neck. "Then, do you accept my courting?" His smirk is hidden from Lance's view. Pidge is trying their hardest to not ruin the moment but their finger is slowly inching towards the camera button.

Lance's heart stops and his eyes go wide, whole face going red before covering it with his hands. After taking a moment to steady his breath, Lance finally just nods, a bit more frantically than he'd meant to before blindly moving towards Keith, hoping to bury his burning face in Keith's hair. The look on his face is something between embarrassed and elated.

Keith smiles and hugs Lance tightly. "Is there a term for a couple that has courted?" he asks softly. Neither of the two noticed Pidge taking photos silently. They couldn't hold themself back.

"Not a human term?" Lance admits bashfully. "But I...you really want to have courted me. It's fine if it was an accident. I don't mind." He keeps his face buried and his hopes low...just in case.

"If I had known it was how to court you, it would have been a lot better."

"No it wouldn't," Pidge coughed, earning a quick glare from Keith.

"I would have gotten you something better than a shell," Keith says as he pulls Lance's hand towards him to look at the shell again.

Lance shakes his head. "Sh-shells were originally one of the best gifts." He says bashfully. "They were once a home, right? So...in essence, you are sharing a new home together." Opening his palm to let Keith see the shell, Lance can't hide his almost blisteringly red face. "I just never thought I would get courted."

"You also never thought you would meet someone like me," Keith teases. "I don't like the follow the norm."

Lance smiles so bright and hugs Keith so hard he's surprised Keith doesn't fall. "I love you Keith." He nuzzles his cheek against Keith's and hums. "I've never been so happy." His body is actually shivering at this point, truly overwhelmed by the swell of emotions. Keith smiles and nuzzles back.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Matt can't hold it in any more. Once he's dragged Shiro far enough that his laughter wouldn't bother the others, he starts to laugh before saying. "Love must be in the air or something. Did you put something in the coffee this morning or was it really just chance?"

Shiro looks at Matt confused. "What are to you talking about?"

Matt takes a deep breath and makes a funny sounding sigh. "Keith just accidentally courted Lance." He grabs Shiro's hand and laughs. "You have a fish in law." Then he just giggles louder again.

It takes a second for Shiro to process this. "I'm glad for them but how do you accidently court someone?"

"I dunno. Something merfolk related I guess. Pidge just told me." Matt shrugs then leads Shiro toward a steakhouse.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Ugh. And I though Matt and Shiro were bad." Pidge teases before putting their phone away. "You two have fun making out. I'm going back home." With that, they give Keith a good for you punch on the shoulder then turn to walk away.

"What are we making out?" Lance asks curiously.

"No, making out is kissing with tongue."

"Oh." Lance blushes a little then nuzzles Keith. "Do-did you want to do that?" He cuddles close and kisses Keith's neck.

"We could," Keith says. His face started to feel warm. "Do you know how?"

"I mean, human tongues are a bit different and my other humans were...a little afraid to with me as a siren but..sort of." He scoots in close and nuzzles Keith before starting to kiss him.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"How long have you been planning this?" Shiro asked, knowing Matt isn't the greatest at keeping secrets.

"The proposal? Umm..." Matt laughs a bit and scratches the back of his head. "About two weeks?" He sighs. "Thankfully they let me change the reservation. This was all originally going to happen Saturday. You know, give us the weekend to celebrate and all." He leads them toward the apparently reserved table and smiles. "I have been so nervous that I kinda feel high right now with all my nerves calm."

Shiro chuckles. "Are we also taking the day off tomorrow?" He rubs the back of Matt's hand with his thumb. "I don't think we'll be down from our high by tomorrow."

"Dude," Matt can hardly hold back his laugh. "Boss man legit went 'finally? Took you long enough. If you need the week, take it.' and I actually started laughing in front of him." Grinning before angling his hand so he can grab Shiro's Matt smiles. "I laughed in front of him Shiro. Like bad. So yes? I'm not ready to face him yet."

Shiro laughed hard and takes a minute to calm down enough to talk. "W-wait, does that mean when you said you were gonna call to take the day off, that was a lie cause we already had the day off?"

Matt cant help but give Shiro a stupid-in-love smile when Shiro laughs. "Maaaaybe." He shrugs. "I mean...I did say you were taking the day off and that it wasn't a request right?" Bowing his head, Matt sighs. "I would have absolutely died if you went in today. Because it would have gone one of two ways," Matt pauses when the server comes up with - what should be an unordered bottle of whine and two plates of food. "I got us the chef's 8 course specialty. If you ask how much it cost I'm going to lie." He says with an eyebrow lifted before returning to his original thought. "Anyway, you would have gone in and everyone would have congratulated you. Thus ruining my surprise. Or they would have seen you and not me and I would have gotten apologetic texts all day."

Shiro can't help but let a few chuckles escape him, imagining both scenarios. "How long after you planned this did you blurt it out to everyone?"

"Would you believe me if I told you only pidge and boss knew?" He laughs and bows his head. "I was so nervous about it all that I just couldn't tell anyone else. Pidge kept telling me I was an idiot for worrying but look at you!" Matt shoves a hand toward Shiro then takes a bite of his food before taking a drink of the wine. "You just agreed to be stuck with this for the rest of your life! I'll never understand it." He laughs teasingly.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Keith kisses back and licks Lance's lip. He wonders what it would have felt like if Lance was still a siren. They would just have to be careful with Lance's shark teeth.

Lance opens his mouth, letting Keith take the lead in everything. He blindly puts his shell in his pocket then puts his hands in Keith's hair before pushing his whole body against him, adoring the warmth of his body.

Keith slips in his tongue in and rubs it against Lance's. He doesn't really have experience doing this but it feels really nice.

Lance shivers a bit before nervously dancing his tongue along Keith's and a bit of a whimper escapes his lips as the feeling causes a strange bolt of electricity to shoot through his body. As if afraid Keith might back away to soon, Lance's grip on Keith's hait tightens.

Keith hums into the kiss. He can feel the tight grip on his hair and thinks it's because Lance is feeling good so he rubs his tongue along the roof of Lance's mouth.

Lance doesn't realize how little he was breathing at this point. The sensations were too new and Keith tastes oddly good. He runs one hand down Keith's back before pushing his hand up Keith's shirt, horribly addicted to the feeling of his skin.

Keith's hands travel to Lance's butt and grip it. They fit so perfectly in his hand.  
Lance finally gasps when he feels Keith's hands. His entire body is hot and his stomach is doing flips. He pulls away to face Keith. "This feels...really good." He says before knocking Keith backwards so he can kiss him again while climbing on top of him.

Keith has to let go of Lance to brace his fall. He was in shock until Lance kisses him again. He wraps his arms around Lance's neck and digs his hand into Lance's hair.

Lance moans a bit into the kiss when Keith digs his nails in. He licks Keith's lips, wanting their kiss to deepen again and his hips start to grow a mind of their own as they grind into Keith a little.  
Keith opens his mouth and a moan slips out. Just from kissing, Keith is becoming aroused.

Lance shivers at the moan before trailing his hand to Keith's nipple as he kisses. Past humans enjoyed that being touched, Keith might like it too. Grinding as he feels Keith hardening causes lance to release an odd series of whimpering moans. "Keith." He finally says quietly.

Keith moans again and shivers run down his spine. He lifts his chest a bit, wanting more. When Lance continues to grind against him, he grinds back and moans it match with his movements. He opens his eyes half way to gaze up at Lance. "Take off?" he asks, referring to their clothes.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"We've known each other for almost all of our life, I know what I'm agreeing to. I also know I'm the only one who can stand the two of you," Shiro chuckles. He takes a bite of his food. It tastes so good that he wants to worry about the price but having Matt like this, after a proposal, he is too happy to care.

"Oh I see how it is!" Matt says dramatically. "Pity marriage." He grins deviously. "I'm hurt Shiro." Gripping his chest, Matt picks up his wine glass as spins it a bit. "Good thing I have plenty of wine to get me through this painful realization!"

"You know that's not how I meant it!" Shiro takes another bite. "You're so dramatic." He takes a sip of the wine.

"Do I?" Matt looks up and smiles. "I might know that." He finishes the first plate of food but - wholly inappropriately for the setting - picks up the garnish and throws it at Shiro. "Doesn't mean I will ever understand why."

Shiro lifts his arm to block but it ends up hitting him anyways. He picks up the garnish and puts it the edge of his plate. He isn't going to continue the fight and get the kicked out. "Any other plans for tonight?" Shiro asks before going to finish his food.

Matt shrugs. "Not really. Besides some alone time maybe." He grins then waves his hand when Shiro blushes a bit. "I'm way too broke right now to do anything else actually."

Shiro hides his very slight disappointment but Pidge knows them and is probably prepared to ignore the world. He finishes the food and takes another sip of the whine. "Are we going to finish this here or take it home?"

"Well, you know me and wine but I also know you and wine." Matt shrugs. "I guess we can play it by ear." He reaches across the table to take Shiro's hand. "I did good though?" He asks as if somehow still not convinced.

"You did amazing," Shiro reassures as he grips Matt's hand tightly. He takes another sip of the wine. "I perfect proposal for us."

Matt exhales loudly and wipes the stress from his forehead. "How did I get so lucky?" He asks as the server brings over the fanciful main course. "Actually managed to get my crush to fall for me and now I'm going to marry him?!" He takes a bite then shakes his head. "You know there's still mornings where I'm convinced I'm in some coma having a crazy good dream right?"

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

When Keith starts to moan, Lance needilly grinds a bit harder and kisses deeper. He swears he can taste Keith's list and it is dizzying. When Keith opens his eyes, Lance is rendered breathless. But without saying a word, Lance rips off his shirt before working Keith out of his. He doesn't even realize how easily he managed to strip the pieces of cloth out of the way, to engrossed in finally being able to feel Keith's skin against his. "Keith...I feel very...needy." Lance isn't sure how else to word this feeling.

Keith doesn't register how fast Lance got them both shirtless. "Do what you need," he says almost breathlessly. He isn't sure exactly what Lance wants to do.

Lance blushes a bit, he hadn't really known what he needed either but Keith's words light a fire inside of him. Licking his lips, Lance undoes Keith's pants. He looks up to Keith for a second as if to verify that was alright then starts to trail kisses down his chest. At least this would be easier without sharp teeth.

Keith's breathing gets shallower as Lance kisses down. He gets harder from just imagining what Lance plans to do.

Lance watches Keith for a second before licking just above Keith's dick. He finds himself electric with want and just hearing Keith makes him lightheaded from blood flowing away too quick. "This is okay, right?" He asks before licking Keith's erection once.

Keith lets out a shaky moan and his whole body shivers. "T-turn," Keith stuttered, wanting to pleasure Lance too.

"Turn?" Lance isn't exactly sure what Keith means so he just looks up at him, head kinked before licking Keith at a different angle.

Keith opens his mouth to clarify but moans instead. "L-Lance... Legs here." He pats the ground next to his head.

Lance tilts his head but nods and shifts so his legs are where Keith told him to. However as soon as he's there, Lance starts to take Keith into his mouth more and hums a bit as he runs a hand down Keith's leg.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"How can I help you remember that this is all reality?" Shiro asks. His cheeks are already pink from drinking as he pulls Matt's hand closer to kiss the back of it.

"Just I dunno slap me every once in a while and go "still real" or something." Matt smiles when Shiro kisses his hand. "You're already flush." He teases.

"Hmmn... I do feel a bit warm. Should I stop?" Shiro asks before taking another sip.

"Nah. Drink as much as you want. Drunk you is always funny." He leans in and smirks. "Plus drunk you...lets me do whatever I want." He wiggles an eyebrow playfully.

Shiro chuckles," Of course you would obedient me." He takes yet another sip and licks his lips afterward. "Should we continue drinking at home? That way you don't have to drag me back."

"What, you don't think I'm strong enough to carry you home?" Matt teases then pulls the bottle to his side. "We can get a fresh bottle to go." He says with a snicker before pouring himself another glass. "Obedient you can be fun sometimes what can I say?"

Shiro chuckles and playfully rolls his eyes. "I'm going to be so drunk," he says before finishing his glass.

Matt laughs and takes another drink. "That may be my intent." He says teasingly before finishing more of his main course.

Shiro's face is redder than before as he watches Matt with loving eyes.

Matt watches him and laughs before leaning in to run circles on Shiro's cheeks. "Boy, you'd better finish your meal. You can have this main course back at him." He winks playfully.  
Shiro blushes more and starts eating. He would look up at Matt with every bite which made him look unbelievably cute for someone of his stature.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Keith goes to takes Lance's clothes off but freezes at the feeling of Lance's mouth around him. A loud long moan escapes his lips. Regaining some of his senses, he takes the rest of Lance's clothes off and starts licking Lance's dick.

Lance was curious what Keith was doing at first and then felt the new sensation and whines a little. He didn't want to stop what he was doing but holy fuck that feels good. Hoping he might focus more if he worked Keith harder, Lance bobs faster before adding his hand to the areas he hadn't take in.

Keith moans more and notices Lance's cut butt hole. He licks his finger and start messaging the small opening. He takes the tip of Lance's dick into his mouth and sucks lightly.

Lance gasps then whines when he feels Keith start to finger him. He shakes a bit but tries not to entirely lose focus on Keith. It's hard though with Keith just seeming to know right where to hit to drive him mad. Lance can't keep from whining a little before he finally starts to moan. He pulls Keith from his mouth only long enough to moan his name then, despite his head spinning, lance goes back down on Keith.

Keith whines when Lance pulls away. Hearing his name moaned again, he takes more of Lance into his mouth and slowly enters a second finger.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Matt swears he has died and gone to heaven. Between Shiro saying yes, his adorable as fuck face, the wine making him a little floaty and the food being literal perfection, he couldn't ask for a better day if he tried. He rests his head on his hand, lopsidedly gazing at Shiro before reaching his other arm across to run his fingers up and down Shiro's forearm. "You keep making that face. Its gonna kill me."

Shiro rubs his nose against Matt's hand. "You're not going to die," he says with a slight slur. The wine is starting to really get to him now. He finished his food and nosed the back of Matt's hand again.

"That's what you think." Matt laughs a bit before signalling for the bill and telling the server to bring another bottle of wine to go. As he assured, Matt pours the rest into his own cup and laughs. "You're going to kill me tomorrow when you wake up with a headache and I don't even care." Matt puts the money in the holder and helps Shiro out of his seat. "Onward home?"

Shiro nods as he leans on Matt. He nuzzles into Matt's hair. Everything was blurry and his legs couldn't walk straight.

Matt laughs and leads Shiro outside, getting him to a bench before calling a can to take them home. "I always forget how bad of a lightweight you are." He sits next to Shiro and traces hearts onto his leg.

Shiro hums and leans against Matt. He wraps his arms around Matt and hugs his fiance close.

Matt chuckles and hugs him back. "I love you more than you know." Matt whispers then kisses Shiro's ear. When the cab arrives, he holds out a hand to Shiro and smiles.

Shiro takes Matt's hand and stands up on his wobbly legs. Matt has to help him inside and buckle him up. Shiro might be obedient while drunk, he can do almost nothing on his own.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Lance can hardly think when Keith does more. His mind is a cloud of wonten lust he's positive his own skills have thoroughly vanished but his tongue tries to keep dancing but then it's too much. His body is too shaky and his moans are too much to hold back. "Keith~" he groans as he pulls back. "I-it's...so much..."he can't even form a proper though as he moans louder.

Keith's free hand wraps around Lance and pulls him down a bit, taking more of his boyfriend into his mouth. He moans as he continues to lick and suck lightly. His fingers move in and out faster as he feels his own dick twitch.

Lance's sounds become frantic when Keith takes more of him in. "K-keeeith." He moans loudly before gasping and releasing another loud moan. He is trying not to scream. But it gets so much harder when Keith starts moving his fingers faster. "Keith. Keith. That - feels - nggh keeeith." His words are slurred and his words are basically all moans by now.

Keith loves Lance's moans. He moans, hoping the vibrations will make Lance cum sooner. The hand on Lance's lower back lightly scratches at the skin.

Lance had already been close, but between the scratching and the moaning, he is hardly able to choke out a warning. "Keith I'm cumming." He groans before feeling his body start to convulse with likely the strongest orgasm hes ever had in his lifetime. He whines a bit, eyes closed in ecstasy, "sorry I couldn't...I wanted to..."

Keith swallows before pulling away. He slowly pulls his fingers out. "It's okay. Was that better than last time?" Keith asks softly.

Lance just nods, still practically breathless, only whining a little when Keith pulls away. "It...humans are far too sensitive." His voice is hardly above a whisper when he speaks. He opens his eyes to look at Keith and sighs before biting his lip. "I want to make you feel like this too."

It's only fair that Lance gets to do it to him too. According to the boy love mangas Pidge shows him, would they both be considered ukes? "Go ahead. If it's easier, you don't have to be above me."

Lance takes a deep breath, hoping to steady himself. It...sorta works whatever. He wastes no time in taking Keith into his mouth, more of him than when he had to stop this time, hoping to let him feel at least some of the pleasure Keith had given him.

Keith bites his lip to muffle his moans. Lance's warm mouth feels so good compared the the cold air. His body shivers as he keeps himself from thrusting upwards, not wanting to make Lance choke.

Lance turns to angle himself to be able to watch Keith as he works. He wasn't sure if there was anything special about how his hands hand...entered him so he decided not to do that. Instead, he uses his lack of gag reflex to take the rest of Keith in, noting how odd it feels to have his throat full of Keith like this.

Keith throws his head back and shivers more. He moans louder and in order to keep himself from clawing the ground, he claws at his arms.

Seeing Keith clawing at his arms, Lance grins a bit then reaches up to give him something besides himself to grab at. He starts moaning a little but finds the sound is barely heard as his voice is blocked. He's so happy to feel Keith squirming beneath him.

Keith quickly grabs onto Lance's hand and his toes curl. The vibrations from Lance's moan is sending him closer to the edge. "L-Lance," he moans out shakily.

Keith is unbelievably sexy as he nears climax. Lance, having finally gained more of his mind, trails his other hand up to play with Keith's nipple while keeping up with the motion of his head. He can feel Keith throbbing in his throat and it feels unreal.

Keith arcs his back as he feels himself inching off the edge. "Lance~! Lance! Cumming! Ahhh~!" His hips quivers as he cums. Once he is empty, Keith flops back down onto the ground.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Once safely in the cab, Matt grins over to Shiro and kisses his cheek then tells them where to go. "How much did you even have?" Matt asks. "I swear I only poured you one glass." He pauses then laughs. "Oh my god I'm an alcoholic! I drank basically a whole bottle myself!" It should be noted, Matt actually has a bit of red to his cheeks as well. He's just no where near Shiro's level.

Shiro mumbles something but with his slur, it just sounds like gibberish. Matt just laughs and returns to tracing silly shapes into Shiro's leg the rest of the way home. He may be creeping upward as he does it, but as a painstakingly slow pace, not even sure if shiro would notice.

Being drunk, all that Shiro knows is that Matt is tight here and drawing silly things. His leg would shiver every now and then but he is too busy nuzzling into Matt to care.

Matt kisses Shiro's cheek when the car comes to a stop. "We're home babe. Come on." He pulls Shiro out of the car, manages to have enough to pay the cab driver then leads him to the front door. He helps him balance while digging for keys.

Even in his drunken state, Shiro feels bad that Matt had to pay. While Matt digs for his keys, Shiro continues to nuzzle into Matt. Even an inch of separation is too much to him at the moment.

Matt laughs a bit and kisses Shiro's forehead. "I like cuddly Shiro." He says with another kiss as he opens the door and leads him inside. "Do you need some water?" He asks once in the kitchen putting away his bottle of wine.

Shiro shakes his head. "Bed," he says softly. It's easier and nicer to cuddle in bed.

Matt grins and leads him away. He sits him down and helps him out of his socks and shoes before laying down beside him. "Will I have to remind you in the morning that this all really happened?"

"Yeah," Shiro slurs as he hugs Matt close and cuddles.

Matt messes up Shiro's hair then kisses him before curling up close to him. "I'll just shove your hand in front of your face." He says quietly before wrapping a leg around Shiro's.

Shiro hums and places the hand with the ring over Matt's face. What Matt just said obviously didn't register correctly in his head.

Matt bursts out laughing at that then he just starts to kiss all of Shiro's fingers. "You freaking lightweight."

"I'm heavy," Shiro grumbles. He removes his hand from Matt's face and kisses him, having been jealous of his fingers getting Matt kisses.

Matt smiles into the kiss then playfully tickles Shiro's neck. "Eh you aren't that heavy." He says before kissing Shiro's red cheeks.

Shiro leans his head towards Matt's hand, trying to stop him. "Heavy," he repeats, managing not to laugh just yet.

"Sure. So heavy." Matt teases before yanking Shiro on top of him before tickling his neck again. "You're gonna crush poor little me."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Lance is pleased when he can feel Keith finishing in the back of his throat. He licks him clean then crawls to be next to him. "That is far easier without piranha teeth."

Keith tries to laugh even though he is panting. "Have you done it before?" he ask softly. He can imagine a guy's scared face with siren Lance going to chomp their dick off.

"I have thought it...was far more difficult not to harm him." Lance scratches his cheek. "I always felt bad since I couldn't do more for him." Lance nuzzles Keith and kisses his neck. "At least that's one good thing about being human Hm?"

When Lance says 'one good thing', Keith doesn't let it show how it saddens him. "Yeah, though I bet there are some people who would like it." Keith reaches for their clothes.

"Should we head back to the house?"

"Hm. If you'd like." Lance kisses Keith's neck some more before propping himself up to watch him. "You..." He looks off to an angle, "you know I'm happy right?"

"Yeah," Keith answers. He puts on his boxers before sitting up and asking," Is something wrong?" Keith combs a hand through Lance's hair.

Lance smiles and shakes his head. "I'm actually amazing." He says before cuddling into the feeling. "I just feel so...foreign to everything. And I don't want you to take that as disinterest." He cuddles in close. "And you know if you asked...I would happily grow old with you like this."

"Would you really be okay with that?" Keith nuzzles against Lance. "I mean, I would love to but... I want you to be as happy as possible."

Lance bites his lip nervously. "There will be days that things will be...scary, sure." He starts, returning the nuzzles and humming, " but I think being with you would overpower that."

Keith smiles and purrs. "I love you," he whispers lovingly as he leans more against Lance.

Lance feels his whole body go warm. "I love you too." He pulls the shell back out of his pocket once dressed and smiles at it then cuddles in close to Keith.

Keith quickly put the rest of his clothes back on while Lance did. "You are getting better with clothes," he comments as he hugs Lance close.

"These are easy now." He says bashfully. "No buttons." Lance looks his clothes over, proud regardless,then snuggles in close to Keith. "If I stay human, I'm going to be annoying and want to learn everything." He says suddenly. "I want to learn from you."

"I would love to teach you," Keith says. "We could even learn some things together."

Lance smiles and nuzzles his cheek against Keith. "You just seem like you know so much already." He says quietly. "I just don't want to annoy you."

"You're a fast learner, I won't be annoyed." He nuzzles back. He goes to ask something but stops himself. He moves into a squatting position and picks Lance up.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Shiro laughs as he tries to get away from Matt. In his drunken state, he doesn't really know if he is pushing away Matt's arm or if he is pushing Matt's face.  
Matt just laughs more as he lets Shiro pull away before climb in on top of him. "Times I can beat you in a tickle match...now." He goes for Shiro's sides this time.

"Nooooo," Shiro cried as he tries to push Matt away. He's laughing as he wiggles to avoid Matt's hands.

"But yeeeesss." Matt laughs and tickles more before stopping and playfully poking Shiro's nose. "Boop."

Shiro scrunches his face up. He meant to do it when Matt poked him but it ended up being a late reaction.

"Pffft." Matt laughs even harder before leaning down close to Shiro. "Light. Weight." He whispers slowly before sitting back up and playing with Shiro's bangs.

"Heeeeaaaaaaavyyyy," he whines with his eyes closed. He doesn't stop Matt from playing with his hair.

Matt finally stops playing with Shiro's hair and just sits on him to look him over with the stupidest happy grin on his face as he runs his fingers along Shiro's hairline. "I actually did it." He says quietly.

"Did what?" Shiro asked as he leans towards Matt's hand.

Matt doesn't say anything for a minute. He just keeps looking at Shiro and gently running his fingers along Shiro's hairline. Finally, his smile cracks. "I got the hottest fiance ever. All." He leans down, "to," moves his face close to Shiro's cheek, "myself." Then, ruining any semblance of a "moment" by blowing raspberries on Shiro's neck.

Shiro scrunches up his face again. He lets out a small whine but moves his head to make more room for Matt.

Matt grins when Shiro makes room so he decides to give him sloppy neck kisses instead before laying down beside him. "You had more than one glass didn't you? You sneak."

"Hmmn... Two? Three?" Shiro slurred as he turns his head to look at his fiance.

"You sneak!" Matt pushes him a bit then leans in and playfully bites Shiro's arm. "That was mine. You should know better than t steal my- wait three?" Matt groans. "I need to get you water. You and I both know - even drunk you - you and that much sulfate leads to a killer headache if you don't have water." He moves to get up, determined to try to save Shiro's head.

Shiro hums and weakly holds onto Matt's wrist. "Two."

Matt gives Shiro a sideways glare. "Are you just saying that so I stay here?"

"No. Two," Shiro says, tugging Matt back into bed. He really only had two glasses, maybe closer to one and three fourths.

"No blaming me tomorrow then if you have a headache." Matt says playfully as he slides back into bed and starts kissing Shiro.

Shiro smiles and kisses back. He wraps his arms around Matt and holds him close.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Lance notices the look on Keith's face and he pouts. "What?" He tilts his head and gives Keith puppy eyes as he carefully runs his thumb over his seashell.

"Hold on tight," Keith smirked. He waited till Lance was actually holding onto him tight before dashing back towards the beach.

Lance grips Keith tight and gasps a bit. "Keith what are you doing? I thought you wanted to go home?" Despite his words, Lance is happily laughing as the wind rushes through his hair.

"We are going home! Just going the long way!" Keith laughed as his hair flew in the wind. Once they reach the beach, he starts spinning, laughing even more.

Lance grips Keith tighter. He knows his isn't that far off the ground but it feels like he's flying. Joining Keith in his laughter, Lance grips richer when Keith starts spinning. His smile grows as he watches Keith out of the corner of his eye. "I adore your laugh." He says in Keith's ear.

Keith blushes and slows to a stop. He widens his stance so he doesn't fall down from being dizzy. "Is there any sort of ceremony or celebration after courting?"

Lance's head is spinning a bit but he leans in nuzzles with a hum. "After courting you typically share in song and swim together? Sort of a 'first steps of life together thing." Lance kisses Keith's neck and hums.

"We can sing and walk barefoot through the water," he said and sets Lance down on his feet.

Lance still holds onto Keith tight as his head is a bit spinny but he smiles brilliantly. "I would love that." He nuzzles then pouts a little "but I don't know any human songs."

"How about we do a song each? Or I can teach you a song tomorrow and we do it after," Keith suggested.

"I would love both of those." Lance walks into the water a bit. He doesn't go far as he doesn't trust these human legs to swim, but the feeling of his lake against his skin makes him smile.

Keith follows, barefoot. "Then we'll do both," he says while nuzzling into Lance. "Who goes first?"

Lance looks back at Keith and smiles before wrapping himself around his boyfriend. "Can you sing first? I love listening to you."

Keith smiled sheepishly as his cheeks turned a light pink. "I can do that." He nuzzles into Lance one more time before singing. This one is smoother than the song he sang a while ago. Calmer with longer notes.

Lance cuddles closer to Keith as he sings. His eyes watch him with an overwhelming look of infatuation. When Keith finishes singing, Lance nearly smothers him with kisses. "It was beautiful." He has before pulling him closer and kissing him again.

Keith's cheeks flare more. It seems as if each kiss made him a darker shade of red until the last one where he could finally kiss back. When they pull away, he gazes lovingly into Lance's eyes.

Lance touches Keith's face and starts the song quietly. His hand trails along Keith's cheek and jawline. He smiles as he sings, stupid-in-love written on his entire face.

Keith feels as if his entire body was slowly melting. He felt so relaxed and dear god, Lance's voice is amazing. He probably had the same head over heels look Lance had. He never wants this to end.

Lance watches Keith and can hardly finish the song as he longs to kiss Keith. Once he is done, he tackles Keith and starts kissing him. Both of them have wet clothes now, but Lance doesn't care as they kiss deeper.

In the distance, the fisherman had his suspicions when they kids had taken the barrel but when he heard the siren singing, he had quickly darted to search for the beast. It had been a bit singing, but there was no mistaking that song. Somehow these kids managed to turn the beast human and it had now charmed a boy human boy. He would have to inform the others and see how to break the charm. Maybe this time they can kill the sailor killer.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Matt nuzzles into Shiro, burying his face into Shiro's neck. He wraps his arms around Shiro and sighs. "So...Halloween wedding?" He says playfully. "Costume party wedding?"

"Mm Batman," Shiro slurred, missing the I in I'm.

Matt, knowing Shiro's drunken slurs, starts laughing before responding. "So I could be robin? Or catwoman? Yes. I'm behind this." He continues, still dying from laughter.

While in his drunken state, Shiro couldn't fully understand Matt through his laughing. He meows and paws at Matt's head.

"Catwoman it is." He laughs a bit more before calming down enough to cuddle in and kiss him. Matt kisses Shiro's ears with a smile, curling himself in close. "My gorgeous kitten." He teases.

Shiro does a bad imitation of a purr and nuzzles closer.

Matt tries not to laugh but fails and is only able to stop himself by muffling is laughter by kissing Shiro's collarbone.

Shiro giggles, finding himself more ticklish than usual. He kisses Matt's forehead and nuzzles his nose into his hair.

Matt kisses him more and smiles as Shiro starts to laugh. Enjoying the sound, Matt just tickles him more, forcing his hands under Shiro's shirt so he can get his sides better.

Shiro tenses up and laughs harder. He tries to push Matt away without exposes more spots for Matt to attack.

Matt keeps ticking before starting to climb on top of him and tickle while kissing. "I've got you now and there isn't a thing you can do about it." He teases.

Shiro let out a small scream while laughing. He continued to try to push Matt away.

Mat stays where he was and tickles more before leaning in and nibbling Shiro's ear before messing up his hair some more.

Shiro wiggles to try and get away. He grabs Matt's hip and tries to push him away with that. His thumbs slightly digs into the spot spot.

Matt's laughing abruptly stops and he bites his lip. Taking a deep breath, Matt looks down at Shiro. His voice is significantly quieter. "Not fair." He pouts.

Shiro lets out a whine as he releases Matt. He lifts his head and lightly headbutts.

Matt is still oddly breathless but headbutts back. He pouts again before collapsing next to Shiro. Breathing deep, he tries to calm himself down,especially when he hear a the front door.

Shiro turns on his side and cuddles into Matt.

Matt sighs and cuddles back before teasingly muttering, "you are so lucky I love you...jerk."

"Woooove you," Shiro says before yawning.

Matt laughs and nods. "Love you too." He cuddles close and smiles, listening as Shiro starts to fall asleep.

Shiro kisses Matt's cheek before fully falling asleep.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Keith's body shivered from the coldness of the water but he was too focused on Lance to care. He wrapped his arms around Lance's neck, pulling him as close as possible.

Lance hums into Keith, his body also quite cold, but he couldn't get himself to separate yet. He kisses along Keith's jawline before kissing toward his ear to sing "I love you" into Keith's ear.

A pleasant warmth washes over Keith. "I love you too," Keith whispers. He kisses Lance right below the ear before nuzzling his nose against the same spot

Lance sighs, too cold to ignore it now. "Should we go home?" He asks quietly after kissing Keith's neck once more.

"Yeah. Don't want you to catch a cold," Keith nuzzles his cheek against Lance's. He sits up, making Lance sit on him. "Should I carry you home?" he smirks.

Lance is quiet for a minute, sitting on top of Keith and admiring him happily before nodding. "I would love that." He smiles.

Keith smiles and can't help but give Lance one last quick kiss before picking him up again. He walks back to their shoes, putting his and Lance's back on. He then speed walks home.

Lance grips Keith tight and finds himself cuddling closer than usual, arms wrapped around his neck as he kisses it. "You're so warm." He says happily.

Keith chuckles softly. He nuzzles against Lance's arm as he stops in front of the front door. He manages to unlock and open the door without putting Lance down. He takes both of their shoes off, having to set Lance on his knees while he squatted to take Lance's off. He then carries Lance to the bathroom.

Lance grips Keith tight, kissing his neck repetitively once inside. He watches where Keith is leading him to and nuzzles before kissing his neck again. "Didn't we shower earlier?"

"We..." Keith trailed off since Lance really wasn't all that wet compared to him. "I need to dry off," he laughed.

Lance nods and grabs a dry towel for him and places it over his head with a laugh. "Sorry. I just...it meant a lot." He nuzzles Keith then kisses his neck then pulls the shell out of his pocket again, admiring it as Keith dries off.

Keith strips and dries himself. Once he is done, he wraps the towel around his waist and puts his clothes on the rack to dry. "It's okay. I probably would have done the same if you sang first."

Lance had watched Keith with admiring eyes and didn't even realize it when he sighed looking Keith over. "You are the perfect human." Lance says with a little smile before putting his shell away and running his now empty hands over Keith's revealed skin.

Keith blushes. "You're more prefect, " Keith says softly. He makes sure the towel is tucked in on itself so it won't fall before hugging Lance close.

Lance grins, knowing he's going to use Keith's words against him. "I think you're just biased." He whispers before wrapping his arms around Keith and kissing up his neck.

Keith pouts and playfully bites Lance's ear.

Lance whines and shudders. "Why are human bodies so sensitive?" He asks, mildly serious as he caresses Keith's back with his hands, endlessly enthralled by the feeling.

"Because they are?" Keith isn't the one to ask about the human body. Shiro or Hunk would probably have a proper answer.

Lance pouts a bit as his eyes scan over Keith's body with a quiet sigh. "I'm not sure whether I will grow use to it." He nuzzles into Keith's neck, kissing it before he plants one gentle bite on his neck.

Keith hums. "Is that a good thing?" He asks softly, getting comfortable in the crook of Lance's neck. He didn't want to move but he also knew that the bed would be nicer than standing in the bathroom.

Lance grins. "It at least means I'm willing to stay human for you." He hugs Keith and kisses him before making him look up at him. "Let's go get you fresh clothes?"

"Yeah," Keith mumbled. He nuzzled his nose against Lance before leading the way back to the room. Once inside, Keith dug put pajama pants and underwear. He dropped the towel to the floor, his back to Lance as he dresses.

Lance watches as Keith grabs clothes and they carefully observe as the muscles shift and move. When the towel falls, he runs his hands over Keith's skin, almost massaging the skin there. "I'm so lucky." He hums before leaning in to kiss down Keith's spine.

Keith shivers. It feels weird to be kissed on his back, but he kind of liked it. He doesn't think about how Lance probably just saw his bare butt. "We're both really lucky," he says as he carefully turns around to face Lance once the trail of kissed ended.

Lance shrugs with a bashful smile. "If you think so." He decides to try what Keith had earlier and grabs his butt in both hands when they are chest to chest. A smile sneaks onto his face then and he giggles. "That's fun."

Keith instantly blushes. Is Lance going to repeat everything Keith does to him? Probably. "Yours is probably more firm than mine."

Lance doesn't move his hands away, instead just smiles, enjoying the feeling. "I guess I wouldn't know." He says before leaning in and nuzzling him. Growing quiet, Lance can't help but finally blurt out a question he'd been thinking about for sometime. "So, how do humans..." He blushes a bit. "Well my humans explained a bit of how they would typically...fornicate but...I never really knew." Shaking his head. "Sorry you don't have to answer that."

It took Keith a second to fully understand what Lance was asking. "Oh... Ummm... Remember when I was fingering you?" Keith trails his finger over Lance's butt. "That's to prepare it. Some people just like the feeling. You umm..." Keith trails off. He really does want to tell Lance but it's hard not remembering the past. "You... I would... put my dick inside afterwards."

Lance blushes a bit then puts one hand into Keith's hair, just behind his ear having felt him tense a bit he kisses him and hums, not saying anything more. Giving Keith room to breathe, though not pulling fully away from him, Lance asks, "and you make children that way?" He sounds verily confused then shakes his head. "Or can only females have children? Creatures of the sea do not always follow such a path."

"Only females can have children," Keith answers and rests his head against Lance's shoulder. All the tenseness from earlier washed away. "Do you want to try something or were you just asking?"

"I was mainly curious." He says uncertainty as he kisses Keith's hair before running his fingers through it. "Though...possibly sometime...I would like to try something with you i-if you wanted to." Lance sounds something between nervous and sad.

"I wouldn't mind." He nuzzles into Lance's neck. "I trust you."

Lance nuzzles back and hums then kisses Keith's neck before nuzzling his cheek, trying to get Keith to look at him. "Whenever you want to, I'd let you be in control of everything. It's not exactly like I'd know what to do anyway."

Keith lifts up his head and places his forehead against Lance's. "Would you like to... Try being in control? Like what I did to you?" Keith teases Lance's but my lightly rubbing his finger over Lance's tailbone. He hopes that Lance would understand that he is referring to fingering.

Lance shivers and closes his eyes before leaning in to kiss Keith. "You wouldn't mind?" He asks, having really wanted to but having been worried to push Keith too far again.

"I would mind since it's you," Keith mumbles. The angle is at and that fact that Keith has to slightly look up at Lance, his eyes seem bigger than they actually are.

Lance's voice catches in his throat looking down into Keith's eyes. He doesn't say much before moving in to make out with Keith again. His kiss is hungry and his tongue quickly darts out, wanting to dance with Keith's once more.

Keith hums into the kiss. It was sudden but coming from Lance, it's kinda hot. He can feel himself starting to get aroused.

Lance hums back and carefully leads them backwards to the bed. Once there, he trails his fingers down Keith's chest and uses on hand to play with his nipple before taking his spot beside Keith and pulling away from the kiss to speak. "You'll have to tell me if I do something you don't like..or - or if you want me to do something better." His voice is quiet as he plays with Keith's nipple.

Keith moans as his body twitches slightly from the pleasure. "O-okay," he says softly.

Lance uses his free hand to trail down Keith's chest before sliding past the rim of his pants to play with his dick for a bit, enjoying watching Keith's face. "I love you." He says, watching Keith moan into his touch and finding it excruciatingly attractive.

"I aahhh~ l-love you." Keith starts to arch his back and slightly moves his hips to the same pace as Lance.

Lance thinks back, and pulls his fingers away, licking them a bit before pulling them out of his mouth and blindly feeling for where to put one. Once he finds Keith's entrance, Lance leans down and starts to lick Keith's nipple before carefully entering.

Keith gasps and lets out a shaky moan. His legs shake as he stops himself from moving his hips. It feels so different with Lance doing it. Once he has gotten used to Lance's finger, his moans gets louder.

Lance is a bit nervous when Keith gasps but feels electric as he listens to him. Moving faster, Lance watches Keith, occasionally lifting his head away from Keith's nipples to watch his face before dipping down to kiss him again. Once he thinks Keith might be ready, Lance starts to add a second finger.

"Lance," Keith moans. He can't stop his hips from moving in rhythm with Lance's fingers. His head is tilted back and feels incredibly hard.

Lance shivers when he hears his name moaned. His breath quickens and he watches Keith with lustful eyes before starting to kiss down Keith's chest. Sliding Keith's pants down, Lance can see how hard Keith is and it makes him oddly proud. Not stopping his fingers, Lance looks up at Keith then seems to ask for approval by licking up Keith's dick.

Keith moans even louder and combs his hands into Lance's hair. He slightly pushes Lance closer.

Lance loves Keith's response so he uses the hand not fingering Keith to lead his dick into his mouth and works him both ways. His mind is enveloped by the sounds Keith is making and the feeling of him tightening around him. No matter how hard he tries, Lance cannot focus on anything else as he pleases Keith, wanting to see how much he can please him.

Keith is practically screaming in pleasure. Every now and then he would try to muffle his moans without his hands which only results in some cute, and shaky moans.

Lance's vision is almost blurred by how horny he is listening to Keith. He angles himself to look up and Keith and sees his jaw dropped in pleasure. Something about it makes him somehow more horny and can't help but moan into Keith's dick as he takes more of it in while simultaneously adding another finger.

"Lance! ahhh~! Lance~!" His beathes are really shallow. He thrusts his hips slightly as he started to feel his climax building.

Lance can't stop. He can feel Keith getting tight and feels Keith's dick starting to throb in his mouth so he works him as best he can, moaning a bit as he does as he feels himself leaking from desire as well.

"La-aaahhh~! C-cumingggaaahhhh~!" Keith's grip on Lance's hair tightens and his back arcs more. His hips shake as he releases his load.

Lance feels his entire body shiver as he feels Keith climax. He makes sure he's done before pulling his fingers away then slipping Keith out of his mouth. Leaning up, Lance kisses Keith. "It was all good then?" From anyone else, it would be a joke, but from Lance it's obvious he just wants to make sure.

"Y-yeah," Keith answers breathlessly. His body is still shivering slightly and his head was still foggy.

Lance is relieved so he relaxes beside him, watching Keith breath and feeling overwhelmingly proud of how worn Keith is. Deciding it best to clean up, Lance darts away to wash his hands before coming back to his place beside Keith and running once hand through his hair, while the other threads itself between Keith's fingers.

Keith hums and cuddles into Lance. "Do you have a preference now?" Keith asks almost sleepily. His eyes are about a quarter closed.

"Preference?" Lance isn't entirely sure what he means by that but happily cuddles into Keith, kissing his forehead before humming.

"Being the one in control or not," Keith clarifies. With Lance, Keith doesn't mind either role and he thinks Lance doesn't care either but he wanted to make sure.

"Hmm." Lance thinks about it then shrugs. "I don't think so." He scratches his head then kisses Keith's forehead. "Am I supposed to?"

"No." Keith shakes his head. "Some people do. I don't... With you, " he whispers the last part. He has never thought about doing it with anyone, until now. He had thought he would die alone with a cat or two.

Lance smiles then kisses Keith's neck a few times. "Do long as you are pleased, happy and don't feel pushed, I promise...I am happy." He runs his fingers along Keith's jawline. "And really, if you ever feel too...too pushed, just say so. Because I'm here for you as long as you let me be here."

Keith nuzzles into Lance's neck more. "I already told you that it's going to be a long time. You're not leaving my side."

Lance wraps himself around Keith, battling his legs less and less as he does. He smiles brilliantly and kisses Keith's' neck. "I may keep asking you until we are both old and worn, you realize this I hope." Then he kisses him again.

Keith chuckles as he kisses back. "I know but the answer will never change."

Lance gets so excited about this that he can't help but grab Keith in a tight hug and kiss him before nuzzling into his neck with a brilliant smile. "I love you so much my, perfect, gorgeous Keith." He hums the words while hugging him tight. "That will never change either."

Keith smiles. "I love you too Lance." His eyes were starting to get heavy. He wanted to stay awake with Lance longer but he couldn't fight off sleep for very long.


	12. Chapter 12

Seeing how tired Keith is, Lance hums until Keith has fallen asleep and seems sound asleep. He wasn't exactly read to sleep yet so Lance slips out of bed and wanders around the house. Humming a melody he doesn't even remember where he'd heard it a bit, Lance starts to admire the paintings on the walls and can't help but wonder what else he could do to show his thanks to Keith for giving him a chance. Keith likes his songs, but wouldn't it be better if he could understand them? With a sigh, Lance realizes there isn't much he can really do. He doesn't know how anything works in the human world. But, at least he can keep wandering around and seeing all the new things without being a nuisance.

Pidge has music playing on their room. It's so loud that anyone who walks by their door would be able to make out most of the words.

Lance hadn't really _meant_ to walk into the room, but he hadn't really heard music like this before. He sorta just..wandered in and took his place on the floor, listening to the music without saying anything as he didn't want to interrupt whatever Pidge was doing.

The playlist goes threw three or four songs before Pidge stretches and twirls in their chair. He jump a bit when they notice Lance just sitting there. "Heeeey... Lance. Did you need something?"

Lance shakes his head and smiles before just going back to listening to the music. He didn't realize just wandering into someone's room might be rude. All he knows is he really likes the music.

Pidge notices that Lance is slightly swaying to the music. They can't deny that Lance is really cute right now. "Would you like to take the music with you?" Pidge asks, feeling a bit weird with someone as silent as Lance just sitting behind them just for the music.

"I don't want to take the music from you." Lance shakes his head and smiles then perks up a bit and points to where the music was coming from. "How did you fit all that sound in there? Is it magic?"

"It's not magic, it creates sounds waves which your ears can hear." Pidge moves their chair to grab an extra mp3 player. "I have a small one you can take. It should have the same songs and more." Pidge turns their back to Lance to add a few things to it before turning back around to Lance. "Do you want earbuds? oh uhh... Things that go into your ear so that only you can hear the music."

Lance had followed close - maybe too close? he's still not sure - when Pidge moved and watches them pull a little box. He tilts his head, looking at it curiously. "I won't be taking it from you?" Taking the mp3 player and turning it around in his hands, Lance looks back at Pidge with a smile then looks down to the music thing before looking the earbuds over and poking at the rubbery thing that actually goes in the ear. "And if I use these I won't bother anyone else?"

"Yup!" They plug in the earbuds and hits play. Since no one had the earbuds on, they could both hear the music very softly. They do the motion of putting in earbuds for Lance to copy. "I won't be able to hear it once you have them on."

Lance mirrors what Pidge had done and puts the earbuds in and his eyes sparkle before they close to listen a bit more closely. After a second, his eyes open again and he smiles. "You really can't hear it?" He asks, thinking he's being quiet still. "And I can use them?"

"I can't hear it at all. That one is an extra so you can have it." Pidge leans in and starts pointing to different buttons while explaining them. "This is the volume. Up makes it louder and down makes it quieter. These two change the song. Right means next, left means go back."

Lance grabs Pidge in a huge hug and smiles. "Thank you for this!" He holds the music holder close and headbutts Pidge gently. It was a sign of friendship, he doesn't realize that might not be the case for humans.

"No problem." Pidge awkwardly pats Lance's back. They don't really say anything about the headbutt and restrains themself from pushing Lance away. They know it's probably a merperson thing or something he had picked up incorrectly from Keith.

With that, Lance turns and starts to walk down the hall. With the music in his head, Lance wanders around until he finds a smaller room with two big boxes and a box of clothes. The room is small and it doesn't look like anyone will be bothered by him sitting there and listening to the music. Deciding the box of clothes looks comfortable, he sits in it and listens to the music, playing a couple of songs on repeat until he had figured out the words. Not paying attention to the time, Lance eventually feels his eyelids grow heavy so he finally drifts off to sleep, still sitting up, listening to the music.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Keith tosses and turns in his sleep.

Keith is alone, in the middle of a gray room. He looks around frantically for anyone. "Lance?!" Keith calls and waits a little bit for a response.  
Silence.  
"Shiro?!"  
No one.  
Keith starts running around but its like he is running in place. His heart is starting to race.  
Abandoned.  
Keith tries calling out names again. "Pidge?! Matt?!" He is on the verge of crying. "Hunk?!"  
All alone.  
"Shiro?! Lance?!" Tears start to fall from his eyes. "Lance!" His voice cracks as he he falls to his knees. "Lance!"

Keith quickly sits up, sweat evident on his forehead. His eyes are wide and his heart is racing. He reaches for Lance and panics even more when he finds that he is alone. He throws the blanket off him and calls for Lance as he walks through the halls of the house.

Lance hadn't even thought about making Keith worry when he wandered away. He also hadn't intended to stay away very long, just wander and look at things. But the music had been hypnotizing. Falling asleep in this clothes box, Lance has no idea Keith is looking for him.

Not hearing a response, he starts to panicly open all the rooms and checking inside. "Lance?!" His voice is shaky as he is on the verge of crying. Lance wouldn't abandon him. He said so! He's different!

After a few shouts, Lance pulls himself from his sleep and pulls one of the earbuds out, trying to verify he's hearing right. Seeing a panicked, Keith, Lance hurries over to him and grabs him. "What's wrong? Keith? I'm here." He looks around and pulls Keith over to the loveseat as it's the closest piece of real furniture.

"Lance," Keith cries softly as he clings onto him tightly. He cries silently into Lance's shoulder.

Lance holds him close, running his hands through his hair. "Keith. I'm sorry." He doesn't know what he did, but apologizing seems like a good idea. "I'm here." His voice sounds nervous and uncertain but Lance pulls Keith onto his lap and holds him close. Trying to help him calm down, Lance hums a little.

"I.. I was... all alone," Keith says between sniffs and shaky breathes," W-woke up... alone... I thought... You left me." Just remembering his nightmare made more tears fall.

Lance holds him closer and nearly cries himself. "Shhh, I'll never leave. I'm so sorry. I'm here." He pulls Keith closer and nuzzles into Keith's neck before humming. "Pidge just gave me music and I didn't want to bother you." With one hand, Lance wipes some of Keith's tears away before meeting his eyes. "I'm never leaving. I am here for you and you alone."

"Really?" Keith looks like a child who is lost and is hoping for any sign of hope. Tears slowly come to a stop but his expression doesn't change.

Lance grabs Keith's face with both of his hands, running his fingers under his eyes, drying up the tears with a smile. "I promise." He reassures before taking one hand away to grab the shell he is still carrying around as though his life depends on it and lifts it up. "I am yours wholly and completely." Then he nuzzles him again and hums.

Keith purrs, but it's shaky and uneven. His heart starts to calm down and he can finally process the mp3 player in Lance's possession. "You can listen to that in bed. It shouldn't bother me."

"I really am sorry." Lance pouts, not liking that his absence caused Keith to become so worked up. He cuddles close and sighs. "I love you." Looking determined, Lance picks Keith up this time and starts to walk toward the room. He's far less confident with the extra weight, but Lance gets them into the room and sits Keith down before exhaling, glad he made it.

Keith opens his mouth to respond but it's cut off by his shock of Lance picking him up. He is highly proud of Lance for making it all the way back to the room. "You okay?" He asks, worried that Lance might have overworked hinself buy doing that.

Lance nods then looks at him with a proud smile. "I was just worried I was going to drop you." He admits with a chuckle before taking his spot beside Keith. Starting to run his fingers through his hair, Lance hums. "I won't go anywhere if you want to go back to sleep."

Keith nuzzles into Lance. "I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep again."

Lance holds him close, still running fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry." He pouts, thinking it was his fault. "We can just cuddle like this too. I like this."

"Sounds good." Keith cuddles closer and hugs Lance tighter, as if scared he would disappear.

"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Lance reassures as he feels Keith's grip on him tighten. He wraps his legs around Keith's as if to prove a point. Nuzzling into him, Lance hums. "Would it help if I sang to you?" He points to his ear buds, "I've been learning human songs."

Keith smiles softly. "Yeah, it would help." His heart flutters a bit. He'll be able to hear doing a human song.

Lance flips through the songs to find the one he had wanted to sing to Keith. He's thrilled to finally sing one that he will understand. Planting a kiss on Keith's forehead just before the words start, Lance's smile grows immeasurably as he sings.

Keith completely melts. He watches Lance like he's singing a love charm. Once Lance was done singing, Keith kissed him. "Amazing," he breathes.

Lance smiles happily. "I'll glad you liked it." He says then kisses him back, twisting some of Keith's hair between his fingers as he does. "It's one of the few things I can actually do for you, so I am happy to sing any time for you." He scoots in close again and kisses Keith once more.

Keith's heart flutters again when he remembers something from last night and pulls away. "That means we can sing together tomorrow. We just need to memorize the same song." Keith is so excited.

Lance grins and excitedly hugs Keith. "That makes me so happy!" He laughs a bit before covering Keith's neck in kisses. "I get to sing with my Keith." Giggling again, Lance wiggles in place before adding, "My Keith _courted_ me!" Then he nuzzles into Keith's neck, humming as he kisses him more.

Keith chuckles, he loves it when Lance gets so happy. It also slightly tickles with the amount of kisses he is getting. "Yeah I did, " Keith mumbles. He purrs and rubs Lance's back, waiting for Lance to settle down a bit.

Lance hugs Keith tighter and hums before trying to purr again and grumpily failing. With a sigh, he looks into Keith's eyes. "I keep expecting to wake up and realize this was some sickness dream and I'm really still alone." He says quietly. "I think it's why I keep trying not to sleep." He laughs a bit.

"People say that if you feel pain, it means you're not dreaming," Keith says as he nuzzles.

Lance thinks about it a bit then nuzzles into Keith. "I'm just glad...I met you." He wraps his legs around Keith more tightly and hums. "I've never been so in love." He admits with a laugh then shrugs. "I blame your early night eyes and pretty singing voice." He teases.

Keith chuckles and blushes. "My eyes aren't that attractive," he mumbles.

"All of you is _that_ attractive." Lance responds quickly. "Your eyes are just hypnotising." He grins before leaning in and pressing his forehead against Keith's. "And whoever told you they weren't _that attractive_ should be flicked."

Keith blushes more. He remembers when he was younger, other kid would tease him about his eyes. There was a few who complimented them, most of which are his friends now. "That's a lot of people," he whispered to himself.

"Then it's a good thing I have lots of time." Lance says with a smile before nuzzling into him. "And I am willing to do anything for my Keith." He whispers before kissing his neck.

Keith smiles more and nuzzles back. "I am willing to do anything for my Lance."

Lance makes an odd squeaking sound before grabbing Keith tighter and humming. "I'm your Lance!" He says excitedly before hopping up and jumping on top of Keith. "I'm hungry." He announces suddenly as he looks down to Keith and smiles deviously before starting to trail his fingers to the spots he had noticed make Keith laugh hardest.

Keith knew what was going to happen. "Hey!" He tries to stop Lance's hand. "I thought you said you were hungry!" He was already tense and trying to hide the spot Lance is going for.

Lance smiles more. "I am." He agrees then pushes his fingers past Keith's arms and starts to tickle before using his hair to tickle Keith's neck again. "But you laughing is better than food." He says with a huge grin while watching Keith.

Keith is laughing as he tries to wiggle away from Lance. One hand is trying to grab Lance's while the other one is trying to just push it away. Lance's heart melts every time he hears Keith laughing. He watches him, tickling his sides as he does, and eventually just fins his hands slowing as he admires Keith. Once Keith looks up to him and is a little more calmed, Lance sighs. "I really love you."

"I love you too, you goof." He sits up, making Lance sit in his lap. He gives Lance a quick peck on the lips. "Let's go get some food."

Lance scoots in close so the two of them are chest to chest after the kiss. He wraps his legs around Keith's waist and nuzzles. "I miss food swimming up to me. I wouldnt have to move if it was still like that." He says with a laugh then touches his chin. "Though humans have far more variety."

Keith wraps his arms around Lance. "If you want, I can bring the food here or we can eat while watching TV." In his head, he is going through the list of breakfast meals that he has eaten in this house. Lance might like to try cereal, one of the sugary ones of course.

Lance shakes his head. "I just want it to appear so I can stay on your lap and kiss you." He says before kissing Keith's neck as if to prove a point. "I do like watching tv though." He admits almost as if he's ashamed by it.

"Do you want to finish the movie then?" Keith asked. He moves a hand down to hold Lance's butt as he stands up. He carefully walks to the living room, struggling a bit but refuses to put Lance down until he reaches the love seat.

Lance grins when Keith picks him up and carries him. As they travel to the love seat, Lance just places trails of kisses over Keith's neck and hums. "We can watch anything." He says when he runs his hands into Keith's hair. "I just like being with you."

Keith sits Lance down first. "But would you like to see the ending or was my explanation enough?" He knows that Shiro prefers seeing the ending while Pidge takes whichever is less annoying.

Lance doesn't let Keith get away. He pulls him onto his lap with a little laugh then nuzzles into his neck. "Yours was more than fine." He hums then wraps his arms around Keith. Despite his growling stomach, lance really didn't want them to be apart. _especially_ after seeing Keith in tears.

"Hey," Keith says softly," I gotta get us food. I'll turn the TV on before I go." He doesn't try pushing away. He knows Lance is clingy but this is a bit unusual.

Lance pouts a bit. "Can I just come with you?" He nuzzles him and kisses his neck before releasing Keith a bit. Somehow, admitting why he doesn't want to be apart seems silly so Lance would rather just follow Keith around like a lost puppy.

"Sure. I can show you all the cereal you can choose from." Keith stands up and hold Lance's hand as they walk to the kitchen. He grabs two bowls before showing Lance all the cereal Matt likes to stock up on.

Lance intertwined his fingers with Keith's and smiles. Following close behind and watching everything Keith does carefully, Lance finally sees the cereal and stares at it for a bit before grabbing the one that is most colorful. "This one is pretty." He hands it to Keith before scooting closer to him.

Keith laughs. Of course Lance would end up picking a sugary one. Keith takes the box and pours it out for both of them. "Here." Keith hands Lance his bowl. He grabs his own and takes Lance back to the living room.

Lance grabs a piece of the colorful cereal and looks at in with a smile before popping the piece into his mouth. "It's like candy!" He says happily while following Keith back and cuddling close to him on the loveseat. "Human sweet food is so good." He smiles before starting to eat.

Keith grabs the remotes and leans against Lance. He turns the TV on and switches to a cartoon channel. He puts the remote down and starts to eat his food. "You'll have to try ice cream later. I think you'll really like it."

Lance nods and eats the food while being so close to Keith that he can probably feel every time he moves. "Sounds cold." Lance pouts and I'm always cold anymore." He shakes his head and smiles. "But I'd love to try it with you!"

Keith smiles. "It is cold but it's sweet. Some people eat it during the winter so they don't feel as cold."

"If you eat cold things you aren't as cold?" Lance questions with his head kinked. He takes another bite then looks back to the tv, enthralled by the colors dancing there. Quietly, he laughs about something that happens before cuddling somehow closer to Keith. "Any plans today?"

"No, but I should check my email later." He is about half way done with his cereal. "Is there something you wanted to do?"

Lance tilts his head. "Email?" Then he takes another bite and shakes his head. "I want to listen to music and be with you. And learning is always fun." He kisses Keith's neck.

"Email is a way to talk through the computer. They are like... A mix of the TV and a phone. I'll show you when we're done."

"Like pidge and the coding!" He perks up a bit, as it sort of makes sense to him. "Does it use the squiggles too?"

Squiggles? Does he mean words and letters? That has to be it. "Yeah. Lots of them."

"Humans use lots of squiggles huh?" He seems thoughtful for a moment then sighs and smiles. "One of my humans taught me a few squiggles but it was a long time ago. They had names...but I forgot." He doesn't mean to be pouting, but Lance just feels so stupid in the human world.

Keith cups Lance's cheek. "I can teach you," Keith offers, already knowing Lance will immediately agree.

"You're sure?" His eyes light up despite the uncertainty in his voice. "I don't want to be too much of a pain."

Keith smiles. "I wouldn't offer if I wasn't willing."

Lance puts down his bowl and hugs him tight. "Thank you!" He nuzzles into him, humming before he kisses his neck. "You are far too good to me."

Keith chuckles. "Of course I would be good to you, you are my partner." He nuzzles against Lance.

Lance snuggles into Keith and feels his face go a bit warm. "It means a lot to me." He says quietly before taking Keith's empty bowl and putting it on the table before climbing onto Keith's lap and putting his forehead against Keith's. " _You_ mean a lot to me." He emphasizes.

"Am I your world?" Keith smirks. In his head, he was referring to the song 'Part of Your World' from the Little Mermaid.

Lance nods and smiles. "You kinda are." He says with a laugh. "Without you I'm just some scared, lost siren with human leg noodles."

Keith places his forehead against Lance's. "Without me, someone else would help you."

"That's not true." Lance shakes his head. "Without you I would still be living in that lake alone." He puts his fingers through Keith's hair before nuzzling him. "I wouldn't want anyone but my Keith anyway."

"I guess it's a good thing that I'm Keith." Keith hides his sadness from thinking about what would've happened if they never met. "You'll never be just a lost siren again."

Lance giggles then hugs him close, pressing their chests together as if to assimilate their heartbeats. "And you will never be alone again. I will never leave you. Never." He whispers at last. "I promise." His final words are whispered into his ear before Lance kisses the sensitive skin just beneath his ear.

Keith shivers and melts. He nuzzles into Lance's neck and feels like he could cry from happiness.

Lance hums when Keith nuzzles into him and runs his fingers through his hair before kissing the top of his head. "Should you check your emails?" He asks before scooting closer to Keith (somehow) thus pressing their hips and chests together before resting his head on Keith's.

Keith hums softly. "Yeah. Do you want to do it here or go back to the room?" He isn't sure if Lance wants to watch more of the cartoons.

"I follow wherever you go." Lance says as he nuzzles into Keith's hair, laughing at the tickling feeling of it. "Where is best for email?" No, he doesn't realize how odd of a question that is.

"I just need a table. If you want to continue watching TV, I can bring my laptop here." He smiles, loving Lance's laugh.

"Laptop?" Lance looks at himself, sitting on Keith's lap and giggles. "I'm your laptop." Then he nuzzles into Keith's hair again.

Keith chuckles and nuzzles back. "Laptop is what we call computers that you can sit on your lap. It's a smaller combination of a TV and phone. So here or in the room?"

Lance kisses Keith's neck for a bit instead of responding, then, realizing he isnt really paying attention to the tv anyway, nods toward the room. "Room. I'll cuddle next to you while you look at squiggles."

Keith chuckles. "Okay." He nuzzles Lance before carrying Lance back to the room. He didn't bother putting away the bowls, someone else would probably use it. He sets Lance down on the bed and grabs his laptop and a foldable table. He sets everything up before sitting down next to Lance.

Lance hums happily. He loves being carried by Keith. To show this, he nuzzles, kisses his neck and gently bites once they are back in the room. Curling up around Keith, Lance rests his head beside Keith and watches him rather than the computer screen.

Keith hums softly at the bite and starts up his laptop. Once he is able to, he logs into his email and sees that he was a few. He opens the first one and downloads the document. "Do you want to learn the alphabet? It's how humans learn the names of each squiggly line."

Lance nods but only seems interested as he watches Keith. Something about watching Keith focus is oddly sexy. Even if it work. "Learning the names of the squiggles would be nice." He mutters while watching Keith with a smile.

Keith splits his screen. One side is the document he needs to proofread and the other is a document he writes out the alphabet with lots of space between each letter. "When people say the entire alphabet, sometimes it sounds like a song." He then sings the song while pointing to each letter with his finger.

Lance grins. He always like hearing Keith sing, even if it is something simple. _No, pay attention to what Keith is teaching you._ Lance shakes his head to watch the screen. He nods and looks them over carefully trying to study.

Once Keith is done, he nuzzles Lance. "You think you got it or do you want to repeat after me?"

Lance looks up at him with guilty eyes. "Can I repeat after you? I remember some but..."he trails off a bit, feeling bad for taking up Keith's time. He nuzzles him, hoping he doesn't look too upset with himself.

He kisses Lance's forehead. "Yeah, don't worry about it. Most people don't remember all of it in one go." Once Lance shows that he feels better, Keith slowly goes over each letter again. He waits until Lance repeats him before going to the next letter.

Smiling into the kiss, Lance hums then nods. "Thank you for this." He says, cheeks a little warm. Then he repeats each letter, determined Keith won't have to tell him another time. Once they have made it through, Lance smiles over to Keith. "I'm learning human writing!"

Keith's smile widens. Keith pulls out a notebook from his laptop bag and flips to the last page. He places it in front of Lance and also gets a pencil. "You can try writing down the letters. Just try to copy what they look like."

Lance looks at it then bites his lip. "How do you spell your name? I want to write that." He starts writing, motions kinda jerky and awkward, but doing a fair job of mocking what he sees.

Keith leans his head against Lance's as he watches and slowly spells out his name. "K. E. I. T. H." He had waited till Lance was done writing the letter before saying the next. "Keith," he says once Lance is finished. "Do you want to write your name?"

Lance tries really hard to make the writing legible. He looks over to Keith for approval. He looks back to the paper and pouts a bit but then nods. "Yeah. And loves." He says playfully.

Keith blushes but smiles. He spells both words out, letter by letter ad Lance writes. Despite the messy handwriting, Keith loves it. The first word Lance wrote was his name and the first sentence was that Lance loves him. He really didn't want to work right now.

Lance looks at his writing and is less than thrilled by how it looks but when he looks up to Keith and aeea the look on his face, his spirits are lifted. "It doesn't look great but...I tried." He pouts a bit but hands it to Keith and nuzzles him. "Sorry if it's no good."

He nuzzles Lance. "You just have to practice. Go ahead and keep the notebook to practice." He buries his face into Lance's hair. "I love it though." he whispers.

Lance holds the notebook close and nods. When Keith whispers, Lance shivers then his smile grows to an immeasurable size. "You do?" He basically squeaks the words he's so excited. Grabbing Keith in a giant hug, Lance kisses his cheek and neck then turns back to the notebook and tries hard to copy the whole alphabet this time.

Keith smiles and hugs back. He watches Lance write the first three letters before forcing himself to read the document. When he finds a mistake, he will add a note for the writer.

Lance continues to write, only occasionally glancing over to see Keith still working. He practices writing Keith's name a number of times and it's still shaky but it's better after the fourth or fifth time.

Once is done with the first document, he moves onto the next. He has about four documents to go through and two of them are huge files. While he is reading, he finds himself really focused. He almost forgets that Lance is right next to him.

Lance continues to practice, even looking over to find a word he can write, despite never knowing what he's writing. When Keith gets to his forth document, lance stops and just admires Keith with a warm smile. Several pages are filled with letters and words. He has written a few letters more than usual as he likes them but he did a good job overall.

Once Keith is done, he stretched and cracks a few joints. He looks over and Lance and gives an eskimo kiss. "All done?" He asks with a smile.

"My wrist was hurting and I was having fun watching you." He smiles then leans up to give Keith a kiss then cuddles into Keith's lap. "Are you done now?"

"Yeah, I'm all done." He combs his hand through Lance's hair. He grabs the notebook with the other and looks over the page. He feels really happy with the amount of times Lance wrote his name. "You're already better than some of my coworkers," Keith laughed.

Lance feels warm and fuzzy. His face, he knows, is turning a bit red. "Now I just need to know how to read it instead of just writing letters." Humming and closing his eyes into the feeling of Keith's hand in his hair, Lance is undeniably happy.

Keith puts down the notebook and smiles lovingly at Lance. "For that, it might be easier to watch a video." There is probably a ton of videos that teach how to read. He can't guarantee that he will be able to remember all the rules.

Lance nods and stretches. "Just...not today." He laughs a bit before sprawling across Keith's lap. "I'm a little bored now."

"What do you want to do then?" Keith asks. Keith then starts to wonder what he himself would do when he is bored. Clean knives and training. Maybe watch a movie.

Lance shrugs and sighs. "Just not study." Once Keith has moved the laptop, Lance jumps on him and tackles him with tickles and kisses.

"Lance! No!" He laughs. He falls back onto the bed and tries to wiggle away but no avail.

"Lance yes!" He repeats while laughing. Tickling his sides, Lance kisses and nibbles at Keith's neck, enjoying hearing Keith laugh after such a long bout of quietude between the two of them.

Keith's laughs turns into a mix of laughter and small moans. The sensation of being tickled and nibbled on was a weird combination and he probably sounded just as weird.

Lance can't help but laugh so hard he stops tickling. He props himself on top of Keith and looks down at him with a pleased smile. "I missed you laughing while you were working."

"I don't really laugh other than when you are tickling me," Keith playfully pouts.

"Well you should fix that then." Lance says with a smile before leaning down and biting Keith's pouty lip. He quickly releases the lip and replaces it with a kiss before tilting his head with a smirk. "Or I should tickle you more."

He narrows his eyes at Lance. "Only if you can beat me!" He quickly flips the two of them. Now he was on top of Lance and he starts tickling the common tickle spots.

Lance squirms and tries to push away before he starts to laugh. He tries to get his hands to listen and go for Keith's sides, but they never make it far before he's trying to cover his sides with his hands and trying to push Keith away. "No fair!" He cries out playfully before bursting into a whole new bout of giggles out.

Keith smirks and doesn't stop. "You're the one who attacked me first!" He tickles Lance a bit longer before stopping but leaving his hands there. Lance's laughs were really cute.

Lance wiggles and laughs while curling up a bit, trying to block himself from being able to be tickled. "Because I love your laugh!" He argues playfully before looking up to Keith. He's a bit jumpy since Keith's' hands are still in place, but he smiles up at him warmly.

"Well I love your laugh too so now we are even." Keith teases Lance by wiggling his fingers for a second.

Lance wiggles a bit before just grabbing Keith and yanking him down into a kiss. "Fine then. We are fair." He whispers before kissing him.

Keith hums into the kiss and feels victorious. He licks Lance's lip and slips his tongue in once he is given permission.

Lance half moans when Keith slips his tongue into his mouth. His body starts to react before his brain can think. He grabs Keith and pulls him into his already arching hips.

Keith moans as they grind. His hands move up to combs into Lance's hair as he sticks his tongue into Lance's mouth as much as he can.

Lance moves to meet his kiss, moaning a bit into the feeling of their hips meeting. Already, his stomach is warm and his heart is racing. One hand trails up to Keith's hair, digging past the hair to scratch at his scalp.

Keith moans softly and he finally has to pull away to breath. He gazes down at Lance with half open eyes.

Lance's face is a little red when Keith pulls away and his eyes are hardly open as he looks up at Keith. "I love you." He says despite being nearly breathless himself.

"I love you too," he whispers before giving Lance a softer kiss. He pulls away slowly and his heart flutters.

Lance grabs Keith, not letting him pull too far away as his own heart is doing the same fluttering. "I know I've said it more than I should already but I'm so glad you were an idiot willing to get hurt or something by entering my dead zone." He laughs

Keith laughs. "I prefer to call it daring," he smirks as he leans down a bit to make their foreheads touch.

Lance smiles and brings his hand up to Keith's hair, twisting his fingers in it. "I am glad for it...whatever it was." He kisses him again gently then nuzzles his cheek. Laying back down, he looks into Keith's eyes and his smile grows. "I could stay like this far longer than I would like to admit."

"I don't think there is anything longer than forever." Keith nuzzles into Lance's cheek. He lays on top of Lance and hopes he isn't too heavy.

Lance grabs Keith and holds him close to him. "How did I make it so long without you?" He asks quietly before kissing Keith's forehead. "I literally feel like I've finally found a part of me I never knew I was missing."

Keith blushes. "Is that what this feeling is?" he asks. "I can't remember what it was like without you."

Lance shoves him playfully. "Stop that." He teases before nuzzling Keith's cheek and humming. "You're too sweet, you know that? It's no fair. How am I supposed to try to match that?"

Keith chuckles and nuzzles back. "How am I supposed to know? I'm not that much of a flirt." He was really just matching how sweet Lance was when he wrote Keith all over the page. Just remembering it makes his heart flutter a little.

Lance playfully huffs and crosses his arms, which - yes, means he has to slide them under Keith first. "I don't believe you. I think you just want to keep all the cute secrets to yourself." He pouts despite the near smile on his face, completely unaware how cute he is.

Keith can't help but kiss Lance's cheek. "You're my cute secret," he mumbles. He wants to smother Lance in kisses but he only kisses Lance's cheek a few more times.

"But that doesn't help me match you're sweetness!" Lance grabs him in a hug and nuzzles him, pretending to be pouty still. "I want to be the best for you." He nuzzles, hoping his hair might garnish a giggle from Keith.

"You already are the best for me," he says before being tickled. He giggles a little and moves away from Lance's hair.

Lance smiles and lays back on the pillow looking up at Keith with a loving smile. "I'm glad you feel that way." He says before reaching up to push some of Keith's hair behind his ear. "Is there anything I _can_ do for you."

"Stay by my side," Keith answers, "Sing whenever you feel like it. Kiss me whenever you feel like it." He really doesn't need anything other than Lance himself.

"Well I was going to do that all anyway." Lance laughs a little and kisses him deeply, as if to prove it. He wraps his legs around Keith's waist during the kiss, gripping his hair in both hands before pulling away to look at him with a smile. "I just want to make sure you're happy."

"You make me as happy as I can be." Keith really isn't trying to be sappy, he just is. Lance smiles sweetly, swallows hard and leans up to kiss Keith again, hoping to put his feelings into the kiss. He hums into the kiss while wrapping his arms around Keith and running them up his back. His tongue slips out, asking for entrance to Keith's lips timidly. Keith opens his mouth for Lance and sucks on his tongue. Lance shivers then grabs Keith's hair with both hands, pulling a bit before he pushes his hips into Keith. His eyes open, watching for a reaction with intense curiosity.

Keith moans and pushes his hips against Lance's. He opens his eyes slightly to see if Lance likes his tongue being sucked. Lance has a lustful expression on his face, whether he realizes it or not. He locks his feet together around Keith's waist and uses his legs to push Keith into him, face a bit red as he lets out a small gasp.

Keith sucks on Lance's tongue more. He loves Lance's expression. Lance's tongue runs along the top of Keith's mouth and he lets out a tiny moan, closing his eyes as his hips push into Keith once more. He feels so needy but doesn't want to hurry Keith along. This is good, even if it does leave him dizzy and wanting.

Keith grinds and pulls away to breath. "Do... Do you really want to continue so early?" He didn't realize it's already past noon.

"I-" Lance cuts himself off and blushes then just shrugs a little. "I..don't know?" He whines the words and his toes wiggle back and forth a bit as he tries to decide whether he should want to or not. Unsure he just shrugs again then drops his head down onto the pillow, too dizzy to stay propped up without some sort of momentum.

Keith gives Lance a quick kiss. "It's okay if you want to. It's just that we usually fall asleep afterwards."

Lance just looks off to one side and pouts. "I just.." He looks up to Keith with puppy eyes then whines. "I want you is all." His face flushes a bit more. "But I feel like that's going to be all the time so..."

Keith smiles softly. "Then tell me what you want me to do."

Lance just whines a bit and turns his head. "I-I don't know what I want." He pouts.

Keith nuzzles into Lances neck and nibbles lightly.

Lance whines a bit at the nibbles and his hands slide up to find Keith's hair. He closes his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Keith's teeth on his skin. "Why does biting feel so nice?" Lance almost laughs the question.

Keith hums in thought and pulls away a bit. "I'm not actually sure. Maybe cause the neck is more sensitive?"

"I like it." Lance says with a bashful smile before lifting his head up to kiss Keith. When he puts his head back down, Lance looks like he is holding back words. After a second of internal struggle, he finally speaks. "What...do you want to do to me?" He catches his lower lip between his teeth and his face burns a bit.

Keith is a little surprised by the question. "I just want you to feel good." He really doesn't know what he is planning to do.

Lance smiles. "Everything you've done to me feels good." He admits before pulling Keith back down into a deep kiss. When he pulls away, Lance is blushing again. "I want..." He shakes his head and just kisses Keith again.

Keith hums softly into the kiss. When they pull away, he slides his hand under Lance's shirt and rubs his stomach. His own stomach felt empty but he wasn't all that hungry. "Are you hungry at all?" Keith asks softly.

Lance shakes his head. "Not really." He closes his eyes as Keith touches him. Will he ever get use to how that feels? Probably not. His hands trail up Keith's neck, hoping to give him some of the same chills Keith gives him. "But we can eat if you need." His words are hardly a whisper.

"I'm not hungry either." Keith leans his head towards Lance's hand, wanting it in his hair. He continued to rub Lance's stomach, loving the smooth skin.

Lance smiles and moves hand to Keith's hair and massages the scalp there while watching Keith's pleased face. "I could lay like this with you forever." Lance hums as he uses his other hand to twirl some of the hair between his fingers.

Keith purrs. He flops into his side so that it was easier for him to rub Lance's stomach. Keith realizes how much like a cat he is so he asks,"Do you want to learn animal sounds?"

"Like besides birds and fish?" Lance turns to look at Keith. "You can speak land animal? That's pretty cool." He sighs, still playing with Keith's hair with one hand. "I would like that."

"We can't really talk to them but we have imitations," Keith clarifies. "For example, birds go tweet tweet or chirp chirp."

"Yeah i've never been able to understand birds." Lance admits but then looks over to Keith and smiles at the sounds before mocking them himself. "So humans can't actually speak with other creatures?" He seems honestly baffled by this.

"No. What animals can you talk to?" Keith asks with his eyebrows slightly raised with curiosity.

"I could understand most fish, only spoke a bit though and spoke a few dialects of dolphin." He shrugs. "I thought it was pretty typical." Touching his chin, Lance pouts. "I wonder if I still can. Human vocal cords are kinda different."

"There is a possibility that you still can. Very few people say that they can actually talk with animals." He doesn't realize that his hand has stopped rubbing and is now just resting on Lance's stomach. "We can go out and see if you can talk to any land animals."

"I'm sure it'd take a while to learn their language you know." Lance pokes Keith's nose and smiles. "Plus I have you to talk to now." He nuzzles Keith then kisses his neck, trailing the kisses up toward Keith's ear before giggling a bit. "I think I'm addicted to your neck."

Keith shivers slightly. "You think? You know you're addicted. You're always kissing it," Keith teases as he nuzzles into Lance's neck.

Lance smiles then kisses it again. "Yeah." He kisses the crook of his neck then laughs. "I think you're right." He cuddles into Keith, burying his face into Keith's neck and sighs. "You smell nice."

"You smell nice too," Keith mumbles. He lets out a quiet meow before purring, thinking Lance would think it's cute.

Lance giggles then meets Keith's eyes. "That was...a cat right?" He nuzzles Keith's nose with his then smiles and mocks the sound as best he can.

Keith smiles and meows again. He knows that they are being silly but it's really fun. Lance giggles and stretches out before meowing again. He nuzzles Keith then scratches his head. He is glowing from how happy he is to be being playful.

Keith paws at Lance, meowing each time. Lance just giggles more, having too much fun to keep meowing. He pets Keith's hair and nuzzles him before pulling him onto his chest. "You're so cute!" He laughs again then kisses Keith's neck.

Keith blushes but says," Nya~" He'll only ever be this cute for Lance. He nuzzles into Lance and purrs.

Lance laughs more before starting to tickle Keith again. "Nothing beats the sound of you laughing though!"

"No!" Keith cries right before he starts laughing. He is trying to wiggle away while making sure not to accidently knee or hit Lance.

Lance doesn't tickle for long despite wanting to. He puts his hands into Keith's shirt and hugs him, enjoying the feeling of his skin more than his shirt. "How do you make me so happy? Do you have special powers? Is it the food?"

Keith chuckles. "You're the magic one here."

"Not anymore." Lance says, not meaning for it to be as heartbreaking as it comes across. He kisses Keith's neck, switching to the other side this time. "I could do this forever and it still wouldn't be enough."

"You're still magical, even in this form," Keith mumbles.

Lance doesn't stop kissing as he speaks, so his words are intermittently interrupted by kisses which turn to little nibbles. "If you say so."

Keith hums and shivers. He really hopes Lance knows to keep the nibbles for when they are alone. "So very magical," he whispers.

Lance laughs quietly as he nibbles his way up to Keith's ear. "So are you." He whispers as his hands tail up Keith's back gently and his kisses continue back down.

Keith's breathing shallows a bit and his cheek turn pink. He realizes that he is starting to zone out, the kisses leaving tingles on his skin. "How do you still manage to get me in almost a daze state?" Keith asked softly.

Lance laughs a little, the kisses somehow becoming more gentle and his fingers trailing in uninterrupted circles on his shoulders. "I guess I'm just returning the favor." He responds quietly. "You make me feel like I'm in a dream after all."

Keith has no response but something random does come to mind. "What do merpeople call their partner? Like what cute nicknames do they use?"

Lance smiles before responding. "Fingerling, my pearl, lanikai, mandara, my lovely coral, nixie...we have many nicknames." He gives a sideways pout and mumbles, "not that anyone ever used them on me.."

Keith pretends to be offended. "What about me?" He cups Lance's face. "I think you are forgetting who I am, mandara."

Lance smiles brilliantly up to Keith. "Well you hadn't ever used one before, karmele." He grins while trying out a nickname of his own before kissing Keith again.

Keith hums and asks," Do they actually have meanings or are they just names of corals?" He wonders how Lance would react to human ones.

"Karmele has nothing to do with coral." He says with a smirk. "I'm calling you my song because without you I am nothing." Lance nuzzles Keith then sighs before laying his head back on to the pillow.

Keith blushes more and his heart flutters. "W-what do the others mean?" He wants to call Lance something that actually fits Lance rather than just saying a random one.

"The other...oh." Lance taps his lower lip. "Well, nixie means water sprite. Mandara means coral tree and lanikai means heavenly sea." He grins then runs his fingers along Keith's jawline. "You are so cute when you're flustered."

"No I'm not," Keith pouts childishly despite his blush getting darker. He likes the meaning of nixie and lanikai, he'll need to remember those.

Lance grins and pokes Keith's cheeks. "Yes you are." He kisses his nose. "I'm not complaining about it. Just pointing it out." He raises an eyebrow and scratches down Keith's back, curious to see what he would think of that versus fingertips. Afterall, he likes when he scratches his head, maybe it's kinda the same.

Keith's eyes become half lidded and his eyes roll back a little. He lets out a sound that is a mix of purring and moaning as he arches his back.

Lance lets out a small squeak and turns a bit red. He hadn't expected a response like that. Something in his stomach stirs and Lance feels gis breath hitch. Catching his lip between his teeth, Lance decides he rather enjoyed the reaction so he does it again.

Keith weakly grips onto Lance as his reaction repeats. This time he moaned softly, instead of the odd mix from last time. Lance watches Keith react with a warm face. God this is hot. He swallows hard then drags his nails down from Keith's shoulder to his hips before leaning in and kissing his neck.

Keith arcs his back more. He moans more, not being able to form any words. Lance found out how to completely melt Keith.

Lance's breaths become short and his hands are a bit unbalanced as he isn't sure how he's garnishing such a reaction but there is no denying that he loves it. "Y-You really like this huh?" He watches Keith's face as he scratches at him again, unaware that his hips arc to meet Keith as he does.

Keith can only moan in response. Feeling Lance's hip, he grinds their hips together.

Lance feels dizzy, watching Keith. He feels himself growing hard already and whines a bit at how much he wants Keith. Scratching Keith's back again, Lance leans up and shakily asks, "Can you..." He starts but blushes a bit. "Can we do more than before?"

Keith forces himself to nod. His head is already foggy with lust. Lance pulls Keith's shirt off before trying to get his off. He bites onto Keith's neck then scratches down his back again. "Take me?" His words are quiet and a bit nervous but dripping with lust.

Keith moans louder and bites down onto Lance's neck. He would gladly take Lance but his body won't really listen while his back is being scratched.

Lance gasps and releases a moan when Keith bites him. His hands go up to Keith's hair instinctively and he looks up to Keith with a wanting whine before he lifts up to kiss him. Keith moans into the kiss and starts working on getting the rest of their clothes off. Once they are both naked, Keith grinds his hips against Lance's.

Lance lets out a louder, whining moan and gasps as they grind together. He hooks his hands over Keith's shoulders and grinds into him a bit faster, causing near breathless moans to escape his lips.

Keith rubs his fingers over Lance's lips before gently pushing them past Lance's lips. He is doing his best to hold back his moans so he can fully hear Lance's.

Lance takes Keith's fingers and starts to lick and suck on them much like he had don't to Keith's dick before. Somehow in doing so, it only makes him more wanting so he moans as he pushes his hips into Keith.

Keith waits a little bit, liking the feeling of Lance's tongue against his fingers. He pulls his fingers out of Lance's mouth and moves his hand down to slowly stick one finger inside.

Lance's breaths grow quicker when Keith inserts a finger. He groans a bit and his grip on Keith's hair tightens. "Keith..." He moans out as he starts moving his fingers.

Keith's dick twitches when Lance moans his name. If he hadn't known better, he could think that Lance was a succubus. Once Lance is loose enough, he adds a second finger and moves them faster.

Lance groans as Keith adds the second finger. He shakes a little and his sick is harder than he thought possible. "Keith. Oh god Keith." He moans his words out before leaning up to kiss him, gripping Keith's hair hard.

Keith moans into the kiss. He moves so that Lance can lay back on the pillow comfortably. "You sure about this?" He asks, making sure that Lance is okay.

Lance gasps and nods, knowing his words are struggling to escape. He looks up to Keith and pulls him down to a kiss once more, moaning as the change of position makes him feel different. With that he positions himself back and looks to Keith with half open eyes and a panting mouth. "I'm sure."

With that, Keith sticks in the third finger. He separates his fingers a bit to widen Lance's hole. A few of the thrusts makes his fingers hit the prostate.

"Ah!" Lance accidentally shouts as his eyes roll back when Keith adds another finger. When he starts to hit a spot that feels especially good, Lance grabs at the blankets and moans more loudly and arcs his hips up a bit toward Keith. "Ah- ah like - that." He forces out the words between shallow breaths

Keith starts to focus on the prostate. He feels himself start to leak precum as he watches Lance. "Feels good?" Keith asks, knowing fully well that Lance can't really talk.

Lance hears Keith talking but his mind can't focus on anything but pleasure so he just grips the blankets harder and moans more loudly. After a few failed attempts to respond, all ending with just loud moans, Lance finally nods while panting, "so good."

"Cum for me then," Keith whispers into Lance's ear as he works more on the prostate. He feels his own butt hole twitch.

Lance moans more loudly than before when Keith whispers into his ear and as if on command he feels himself quickly reaching climax. Whining a little as he does, Lance pushes his head back onto the bed and pants as he finishes with a violent orgasm. Lance is fairly certain his whole body spasms as he finishes and his head feels so floaty he cant open his eyes.

Keith is panting lightly from lust. He moves to sit between Lance's legs. He waits a little for Lance to catch his breath before rubbing his tip against Lance's hole. "Ready?" he asks softly.

Lance pants for a bit then barely opens his eyes to look at Keith. He nods quickly, moaning when he feels Keith just outside of him. Prepping himself, Lance takes the blankets in two tight fists.

Keith lifts one of Lance's leg over his shoulder then slowly pushes in. He watches Lance's face to make sure he isn't hurting his pearl.

Lance's breath all but stops when Keith enters him. He grips the blankets harder and moans. Even without Keith moving, this feels better than his fingers. Despite having just came, Lance finds himself growing hard again pretty damn fast. "Ah-Keith."

"So warm," Keith groans. He gets himself all the way in before having to stop. He shivers from the feeling. "Lance," he moans as he slowly starts moving.

"I'm suddenly-" Lance gasps then grabs Keith's shoulders, "-very jealous of-" he almost shouts from the sensation of Keith thrusting into him. "-of humans." He half whines, half moans the last two words before starting to move with Keith. "Ah-ngh-keeeith"

Keith would ask how merpeople do it but now is not the time. He slowly quickens his pace as he grips Lance's waist tightly.

Lance can't hold back his sounds any more. One hand moves to Keith's hair and he gasps for air between his moans. His chest arcs up when Keith grabs his hips and he groans before clamping his teeth together hard. "Keith...Keith...it's so good...ah..."

"Lance," Keith groans as he thrusts faster. "So tight." He feels his climax starting to build.

Lance can't form anymore words, his heart is racing and his head is foggy. He pants and gasps for air as Keith thrusts faster. The hand on Keith's shoulder grips hard and both other one trails down his back, dragging his nails down hard.

Keith moans louder and visibly shivers. "D-do aahh~ I cum inside?" Keith asks with a shaky voice. He can't stop thrusting as he feels himself getting closer to climax.

"Don't stop!" Lance shouts then wraps his legs around Keith, not letting him go. He groans and feels himself aching close to another climax.

"C-cumming," Keith moans,"Lance~!" He thrusts as far as he can into Lance and cums hard. His whole body shivers and his eyes roll back.

Lance had been close, but Keith moaning his name and filling him pushed him over the edge for a second time. He groans then pants, breathlessly collapsing backwards onto the bed. Despite wanting to say something, it's obvious Lance couldn't speak if he was forced to.

Shakily, Keith pulls out and flops onto the bed next to Lance. His is panting hard as he slowly rolls onto his side. "Tired?" Keith asks breathlessly, looking tired himself.

Lance doesn't move for a while. He attempts to calm his breathing while reaching out blindly for Keith's hand. His eyes finally open and he just nods a bit.

Keith notices Lance's hand and holds it. He cuddles into Lance and kisses his forehead. "Nap time," he mumbles. He grabs the blanket and pulls it to cover at least half of their body before nuzzling into Lance and closing his eyes.

Lance doesn't even struggle to fall asleep once Keith is beside him. His entire body is warm and tingling so within no time, he falls asleep, face buried in Keith's hair.


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm gonna go get them." Matt says determinedly. His face is a bit pink, having celebrated a little too hard. "They've been in there _all day_ and we have food and there's a fire and it's _soooo_ nice out." He say with a grin. "Plus I wanna give fishboyfriend some wine and see how he reacts. You know you do toooo."

"Do you think that will be safe?" Shiro asks. "Shouldn't we do this when you're not drunk?" It's hard to get Matt drunk. He holds Matt's shoulder to keep the orange haired man from falling over.

"I'm not drunk!" Matt says determinedly. "A bit tipsy sure, but certainly not drunk." He gives Shiro an eskimo kiss then smiles big before kissing him on the cheek. "It'll be safe. I have you!" Rubbing his shoulder into Shiro, Matt sings his next words. "Soooooo are youuuuu gonna wake them up or should I?"

Shiro sighs. "I'll go with you to make sure you don't trip over air," he teases.

"I'm not gonna trip." Matt holds up his half full cup of wine. "That would be wasteful." He teases right back before quickly heading to the bedroom door and leaning against it for a second. "It's quiet. I think it's safe." After the Little Mermaid incident, he just wanted to make sure.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Inside, Keith and Lance are still sleeping. Hearing the door open, Keith nuzzles more into Lance.

"Booooyyyyys~" Matt darts over to the edge of the bed with a smile. "There's food outside and I have wiiiine. Get up lazy bones."

Keith groans and hugs Lance tighter. "You're drunk, go away," he groans, he can smell the alcohol.

"Nooooo. Get up." Matt plops down next to Keith. "You two have been locked up in here all day and - I mean, new boyfriends I get it ok - but like, come out and be social. Have a hot dog." He messes up Keith's hair then groans. "I mean...or you don't have to. Just a...thought."  
"Mmm Keith?" Lance is barely awake, he just hears Matt talking.

"Do you want to eat?" Keith asks Lance softly. He cups Lance's face as he help Lance wake up despite not being fully awake himself.

"But I'm still in bed." He mumbles before pulling his eyes open and starting to realize that Matt is in the room too. "There's food?" Lance rubs one eye then leans in and kisses Keith before flinching when he realizes he's a little sore from before the nap.

"Well there's food outside yes." Matt stands back up. "So when you two are _dressed_ come joooinn uuuus."

"You're drunk!" Keith sits up and glares at Matt. He yawns and rubs his eyes, interrupting his grumpy moment. "Get out so we can change."

Matt sticks his tongue out. "Am not drunk." He says playfully before darting back out and jumping at Shiro. "Loooveeee yoouuuu."

Shiro chuckles and wraps his arms around Matt. "I love you too. Should we get you some water?"

"Water is for quitters." Matt says with a smile before nuzzling more. "But I could go for some coffee."

Shiro rolls his eyes. "We both know that that's a bad idea. Remember what happened last time?"

"Yeah I stayed up all night it was great." Matt laughs as he heads to the kitchen anyway and starts to fill the coffee pot. "Plus, the boys probably need it. They _did_ just wake up after all."  
Shiro follows slowly. "You had a major headache the next day," he reminded Matt.  
"From lack of sleep probably." Matt points to Shiro, playfully stern. "I'll only have one this time. _Then_ I'll have some water."

Shiro sighs but smiles. "Alright, that's a good compromise."

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Lance grabs onto Keith, not ready to be up yet. He cuddles into him, laying his head on one leg.

Keith combs a hand through Lance's hair. He really doesn't want to get out of bed. "If we don't change soon, Matt is going to come back and force clothes on us." He speaks from experience.

Lance whines a bit but stretches, trying to help himself wake up. "But I don't want to." He pouts.

Keith continues to comb through Lance's hair. "I don't want to either but Matt always makes sure he gets what he wants."

Lance cuddles closer then kisses Keith's stomach - as it was nearest thing to him. "Fiiiine." He sprawls out then opens his eyes and smiles up to Keith. "Waking up to you is the best."

Keith smiles, his cheeks very slightly pink. "It would have been nicer if we weren't forced awake." He reaches towards the nearest article of clothing. It was Lance's underwear so he hands it to Lance. "You're really cute when you're sleepy."

"Agreed." Lance nods then reaches up to run his fingers along Keith's jawline. He takes the clothes with the other hand and smiles. "I probably look silly." He rubs his eyes. "I can barely keep my eyes open." On cue, he yawns again.

That causes Keith to yawn. "You gotta get up," he whines, not knowing how to help. If he falls back down onto the pillow, he will probably fall back asleep.

Lance whines then sits up and wraps his arms around Keith. "Alright." He buries his face into Keith's neck. "I'm up." His voice is almost teasing then he kisses Keith's neck again.

Keith whines, "That's not what I meant." He sighs and buries his face into Lance's neck. "I might end up falling asleep here," he mumbles, his eyes already getting heavy again.

"Ok." Lance doesn't fight that. "So we fall asleep." He nods then wraps his arms around Keith before kissing his neck a few more times.

Keith hums and kisses Lance's neck. "If Matt comes back, it's not my fault," Keith mumbles sleepily.

"Wouldn't blame you." Lance says happily as he drags Keith down to the pillow again and lays his head on Keith's chest. "Love you." He yawns before nuzzling his chest happily.

Keith curls around Lance and lets his eyes close. "Love you too." He yawns before falling back asleep.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Matt gets the coffee started then rinses his wine glass. He might be _a little_ drunk but he still hates dirty dishes. Then, he turns to Shiro and smiles. "Catch!" He says before running and jumping onto him.

Shiro goes wide eyes but manages to catch Matt. "Why did you do that?" he asks, lightly glaring at Matt.

"Why not? I knew you'd catch me." He laughs then starts to give him silly nose kisses. He peeks back toward the room. "They're slow."

Shiro chuckles, loving the silly kisses. "You did just wake them up after all. We don't know how long they were asleep for."

Matt sighs grumpily. "But Pidgeon didn't come out either and I want to play by the fiirrree." He whines before putting his hands into Shiro's hair again. "Should we really let them keep sleeping." His pout only grows at this.

"Let them sleep a little bit longer. We still have a few hours before dinner. Wait till around six then you can drag them out."

Matt pouts but, since Shiro told him to wait, he doesn't dart back toward the room. He instead, makes his coffee then wanders outside to start building the fire. "They're really happy huh?" His voice is a little less playful, but he still wears a bright smile.

"Yeah, to think Keith would cuddle with anything other than his childhood hippo stuffed animal." Shiro is smiling widely, super happy that Keith finally has someone.

"Oh my -" Matt cuts himself off laughing. "I totally forgot about snaggletooth." He laughs some more. "Improvement over that for sure." Once the fire is going, Matt bounds back over to Shiro and stands up on his toes to kiss him playfully. "I still got the better deal here. But, getting a siren boyfriend is pretty snazzy."

Shiro blushes slightly and hugs Matt close. "You sure you wouldn't prefer me to be a siren for research purposes?" Shiro teases.

"I mean..." Matt thinks on it for a second with a little smirk. "Yeah. I'm sure. I love when you sing in the shower when you think I can't hear you." He smirks bigger then snaps his fingers. "I did find a couple of scales and there was standing water that I plan to study."

Shiro's blush darkens. Matt hears him singing in the shower? He thought his double checking was good enough. "Th-that's good. Should we give them a scale or two?"

Matt grins when he sees the look on Shiro's face before mocking one of Shiro's most sung songs. Once done he chuckles. "Do you think that would be good?" He scratches his back then turns and collapses against Shiro. "Don't think it'd be too much of a kick to the groin? LIke...these use to be yours?"

Shiro groans, he needs to stop singing unless he knows for sure that Matt isn't in the house. "It might be put it could also be a reminder of how they met. We can talk to Lance about it when they wake up."

Matt nods. "I like you singing by the way." He smiles up to him. "Please don't stop." With a sigh, Matt looks back to the fire. "Do you think he's happier being human? Or do you think he's just happy because he's with Keith?"

"It has to be Keith. He only agreed to cooperate because he would still be able to be with Keith."

Matt nods but shrugs. "I don't know." He pulls Shiro's arms around himself then takes another drink of coffee. "If I were as lonely as he was...sure I might start off bitchy...but... then I'd realize it was nice to not be alone. You know?"

"I'm sure Lance is realizing that. He is opening up more," Shiro says. "He likes watching Pidge."

"Oh I know. I guess they gave him an mp3 player and he was totally enthralled." Matt laughs then spins around to face Shiro. "So plus side, you don't have to feel guilty anymore, right?" He walks his fingers up Shiro's chest then pokes his nose. "Is it six yet?"

"No," Shiro laughs. "It couldn't have been that long since you tried to wake them up. Don't you have your phone on you?"

"Why would I have my phone?" Matt teases. "It's my week off and the only people I'd talk to are here. Well, unless Hunk tried to call, but he'd totally call you or Pidge first." He pouts. "I wanna jump on them."

Shiro sighs. "No jumping on them. Just wait a little bit longer."

"You ruin all the fun." Matt says teasingly.

"They'll probably wake up soon."

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Lance slowly starts to wake up, neck having been kinked from sleeping on Keith's chest. He stretches then sits up and watches Keith with a smile.

Missing the warmth, Keith cuddles closer to Lance.

Lance wraps his arm around Keith and runs his fingers through the back of his hair before kissing Keith's forehead.

Keith hums and slowly opens his eyes. His eyes are still blurry as he nuzzles against Lance.

Lance watches him open his eyes and just smiles more before leaning down to kiss Keith's head while running his fingers through his hair. "Far better to wake up like this." Lance agrees.

"Far better," Keith echoes and leans into Lance's hand.

Smiling as Keith leans into his hand, Lance makes circles on Keith's cheek. "I'm hilariously in love with you. Like...could sit like this forever in love with you. Like...totally alright with staying human forever to be with you." His words are sing songy as he speaks through a brilliant smile.

Keith doesn't know what to say but he blushed and hides his face in Lance's neck.

Lance giggles and runs his hands through Keith's hair. "Well should we go before Matt bothers us again?" He asks quietly before kissing the top of Keith's head.

Keith nods buts waits till Lance is up before getting up himself. He gathers his clothes and changes.

Lance changes carefully. He watches Keith with a smile and, once changed, leans against the doorway waiting for Keith. As has become normal for him, Lance wears no shirt or socks.

Keith cuddled up to Lance once he is fully clothed. "Ready?" He asks despite still not really wanting to leave the room.

Lance wraps his arms around Keith and nuzzles into him before humming. "I suppose." He says quietly but doesn't make a move toward exiting. Instead, he just tightens his grip on Keith and nuzzles his hair.

Keith hugs Lance just as tight and nuzzles back. They should get going but he doesn't want to be the first to move and Lance be surprised by that.

Lance smiles as Keith nuzzles back and finally sighs. "Lets go ahead and go. He said food, right? I am a bit hungry." Lance rubs Keith's cheek and sighs happily.

Keith releases Lance from the hug and holds Lance's hand. They walked to the entrance and slipped on their shoes before walking outside and seeing the fire.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Back outside, Matt is holding a bottle of water, not having taken a drink at all, and cooks a marshmallow over the fire. "I'm gonna go back in there. I'm not kidding."

"Just give them a few more minutes." Shiro grabs Matt's wrist, stopping him from getting another marshmallow. "Stop wasting them."

"But they're so fun to burn." Matt pouts. "Like tasty little lava balls." He give Shiro puppy eyes.

Shiro narrows his eyes. "You're wasting the food."

"It's just marshmallows." Matt pouts more.

Shiro sighs. He can't keep arguing with Matt if he has that expression. "We are going to eat those," he argues softly.

"But there's a whole bag." Matt wiggles his hand free and puts another marshmallow on the stick. "And I can eat this one. I'll wait for it to burn than eat the crispy goodness. Matt looks toward the side door when he hears it opening. "Hey look who finally decided to show up!"  
Lance had been watching Keith more than where they were going but the flicker of the fire out his peripheral vision males him freeze and his eyes go wide. He glances over to the fire and his grip on Keith grows deadly tight. He tries to make a sound but can't so he just shakes his head fearfully.

"What's wrong?" Keith turns so he is standing between Lance and the fire. His eyebrows furrowed in worry. Shiro gets a bit worried too. Matt is too far too see Lance's reaction with his eyes so he just goes back to cooking marshmallows.

Lance tries to speak but can't find words at first. He just grips Keith, almost more scared when Keith steps between him and the fire. Not realizing it, Lance shivers and pulls Keith closer to him, afraid the fire will hurt him. "Why is there fire?" He finally forces, sounding near tears.

"I-it's a bonfire. To heat up the food," Keith explains. He hugs Lance into his chest and nuzzles into his hair. "The fire stays in the little circle," Keith says, hoping it would help.

"It can't leave?" Lance grips Keith tight, still too afraid to look at the fire. "It won't hurt us?"

"It won't hurt you." Keith nuzzles more into Lance's hair.

Lance peeks over Keith's shoulder, watching the fire for a second before fearfully hiding in Keith's chest again. "Promise?" He whines.

"I promise nixie," he whispers. He purrs and rubs Lance's back.

Lance can't help but grin when Keith uses a nickname for him. "Ok karmele, if you promise." He nuzzles him ones more before taking a deep breath and turning toward the fire. Despite his more confident words, Lance grips Keith's hand tighter before wrapping himself around his arm.

Matt pokes Shiro and motions toward Lance before shrugging confused. "What's going on?"

"He is scared of fire," Shiro imforms Matt.

Matt pulls the blackened marshmallow out of the fire and stands up. "I kinda didn't figure fishboy would have seen much fire." He leans into Shiro and pouts.

Shiro pats Matt's head. "Maybe the fishermans at night?"

"You don't have to get too close." Matt smiles at Lance then hands Keith one of the sticks used for cooking. "I'm thinking you might want to be the one to cook."

Keith takes the sticks and grabs three marshmallows. He hands one to Lance and says,"This is a marshmallow." He then puts the other two on the sticks. "I'll cook these two."

Lance only nods, eyes focused on the fire. His hand toys with with squishy marshmallow before he moves to eat it. Not moving his eyes, Lance is still fiercely tense and clinging to Keith when he finally says, "These are good."

Keith chuckles, he knew Lance would like it. He just wonders if Lance will like it cooked. Keith nuzzles Lance and whispers, "Nixie, it's okay. The fire won't hurt you."

Lance nods and whines a little before exhaling and trying to relax. He nuzzles Keith and kisses his neck.

Matt sits across from them and pokes Shiro, holding back a squeal. "Look at them." He says quietly. "Did you ever think you'd see such a gentle Keith?" His voice is almost a squeal he's so excited. Matt grabs another marshmallow and sticks it over the fire. "You think Lance would like a s'more?"

Shiro laughs, he has seen a gentle Keith before but not this gentle. You would think Shiro would be the one so excited, then again, Matt is just as much of a guardian to Keith as he is. "It's sweet so probably."

Matt makes one then hands it over to Lance who clearly struggles to pry an arm from around Keith. "Thank you." He holds it close before scooting back closer to Keith. "Karmele why do humans sit by the fire? Is it ritual? I've seen it from a distance for years."

"It's just something people like to do. The fire is light, warmth and a food cooker all in one." Keith pulls back the marshmallows to show Lance the brownness. "Plus Matt likes fire."

"It _is_ pretty." Lance admits before taking a bite of the food Matt had given to him. He hums happily. "This is really good!" He says as if surprised then cuddles up to Keith. "Can we go back to the beach tonight?" He asks quietly. "As odd as it sounds...I miss it."

"Yeah, we can go back to the beach." Keith stabs the sticks into the ground so that it will stand. He hugs Lance and whispers," It's not odd to miss it."

"But I'm happy here." Lance says quietly. "I wasn't really...you know...happy there just comfortable." He swallows hard then nuzzles Keith. "And I don't want you to think I want to leave or anything." Lance cuddles closer and puts the half eaten smore in front of Keith. "Eat." He says with a smile.

"You two make me feel like I need to go back to romance school." Matt teases before blowing the fire out on his marshmallow.

Keith goes slightly cross eyed when he looks at the smore. He opens his mouth and eats the rest, licking Lance's finger in the process. When Matt comments, Keith gives him a confused look. Shiro chuckles. "We already went through that faze." He leans towards Matt's ear and whispers," And I loved every second of it."

Lance grins when Keith licks his finger then leans up to give him an Eskimo kiss before leaning his head back on Keith's shoulder. "I really am happy here." He admits quietly then looks to Shiro. "Thank you for accepting me, if - if I haven't misunderstood anyway."

Matt turns back to Shiro and smiles. "You'd better have. It took way more nerve for me to pretend I wasn't nervous about fucking it all up every time we were together." Matt teases.

Shiro looks at Lance and nods with a smile. "I'm glad you're happy." He then lightly head bumps Matt. "We've known each other forever, you can't mess this up."

"Pfft I'm not nervous anymore." Matt teases. "Now I _dare_ you to try and leave me." He playfully bumps Shiro's shoulder.

"We both know I'm not going to do that," Shiro laughs.

"I know." Matt says proudly before grabbing his unopened bottle of water and finally taking a drink. "I've done my job well." He teases.

Keith leans forward and grabs the sticks again. He hands one to Lance and shows him how to eat the marshmallow off the stick.

Lance takes the stick and holds it a bit nervously but tries to do as Keith shows him. With a smile, he looks over to Keith, trying to show that he's not as scared as he was. Keith smiles and nuzzles Lance. "You're doing great."

Lance nuzzles and hums. "I'm still kinda afraid it's going to move but it is pretty." He nervously holds a hand closer to the fire and smiles. "And warm."

"Would you prefer to go to the beach now?"

"We...we could sing together there?" Lance asks with a sweet smile before tightening his grip on Keith's hand. "If you wanted?"

Keith smiles and places his forehead against Lance's. "Don't be scared to ask for something. I would gladly love to sing with you."

Lance glows then kisses Keith before hopping up, secretly thankful to move away from the fire. "Then let's go sing!" He chirps before playfully nuzzling Keith as he stands.  
"Leaving already?" Matt pouts.

Keith smiles and laughs softly. He nuzzles Lance back and turns to Matt when he talks. "Lance wants to go to the beach. We prefer the water, you pyromaniac," Keith responds.

Matt raises an eyebrow and smirks. "Says you." He gives a knowing look then waves the boys away. "Fine fine. Go be an adorable couple at the seaside...prince Eric."

Keith huffs and glares at Matt before quickly going to the beach. "Do you know the name of the song you want to sing?" Keith asks once they are away from the fire.

"No. But it was about wise men talking and falling in love." Lance cuddles into Keith, suddenly aware how much cooler it is away from the fire.

Keith laughs and hugs Lance close. "Do you want my shirt?"

Lance shakes his head. "No. I don't want you to be cold." He nuzzles Keith. "And if I cuddle I'm warm." His voice is quiet and he kisses Keith's neck. When he hears the lake, Lance perks up a bit. Even if he tried to deny it, Lance can't hide how much he like a the water.

Keith smiles shrinks to his usual small one. "Do you want to sing in the water again?" He is already slipping off his shoes and he made sure to wear pants that didn't go all the way down to his ankles.

Lance nods and darts into the water. He sees Keith trying to keep from getting wet do he grins then splashes him, laughing a bit louder this time.

Keith pouts at first but then smirks and splashes Lance back. He wasn't completely surprised to get wet again, he had half expected it actually.

Lance laughs when Keith splashes back so he decides to do it again, running a bit further into the water to try to avoid Keith splashing him.

Keith follows and keeps splashing back. "You can't run away from me!" He ignores the fact that the water is starting to completely soak the pant legs.

"I can try!" Lance teases before splashing him again before tripping and falling on his ass in the water, causing him to laugh even harder. "I didn't do a good job." He says through his laughter.

Keith stands in front of Lance and holds out a hand for him to take. "Is your butt okay?" he laughs.

Lance pretends he is going to take Keith's hand but ends up splashing him again and laughing. "Wanna check and see?" He teases a bit before splashing some more.

"I would but it seems you're completely fine!" Keith splashes back as much as he can, using both hands this time.

Lance laughs then leans forward and pulls Keith down to him. He laughs as he nuzzles Keith then kisses his neck. Just as Keith likely thinks he's done, Lance splashes him again.

"Hey!" Keith pushes Lance down, getting more of Lance in the water. "I thought we came here to sing!"

Lance laughs and shakes his hair out before leaning in to kiss Keith. "So lets sing!" He says then splashes Keith again.

Keith splashes back. "You have to start!"

Lance laughs then pulls Keith into a wet hug before starting to sing, melody echoing into Keith's ear as he sings just into it. "Wise men say only fools rush in,"

Keith instantly remembers the song and jumps in. "But, I can't help falling in love with you."

Lance's smile grows exponentially as he continues singing, harmonizing with Keith perfectly as he pulls him onto his lap.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

On his deck, the fisherman hears the song again and realizes this must be a nightly thing for the siren. The creature must need to return home. Poor human under its spell. He shakes his head and heads inside, putting together a plan to rid this town of that thing once and for all.

Keith places his forehead against Lance's. His cheeks pink and his heart fluttering. He starts to get lost in Lance's eyes but still manages to sing just fine.

Lance holds Keith tight as they sing to the end of their song. He leans in and kisses him deeply, chest warm and heart racing. "I love you so much, karmele."

"I love you so much too, nixie," he whispers and kisses Lance again. His stomach is filled with butterflies and it feels like this is all a dream.

Smiling as he pulls away, lance cant hold in his laughter as he splashes Keith again. "Catch me if you can!" Lance feigns confidence in his ability to run as he gets up and sloppily darts through the water.

"Lance!" Keith yells. He gets ups and follows, slowly catching up. Once he is in arm's reach, he hugs Lance and twirls around. His shirt soaks up the water on Lance's back.

Lance laughs and tries to slide away but can't so he just reaches up and wraps his arms around Keith's head with a smile. "You caught me." He says with a happy smile.

"I caught my adorable nixie," Keith said as he nuzzles his cheek against Lance's. He loves Lance so much and the pet names Lance taught him are too cute.

Lance laughs again before turning so they are chest to chest. "Yours forever." He agrees before running a hand through Keith's hair and sighing. "Is there a longer than forever? If so that's how long."

Keith chuckles. "Forever and ever?"

Lance nods then nuzzles him. "That long." He agrees then starts kissing his neck before leaving a trail of tiny nibbles.

Keith hums and he nuzzles his cheek against the side of Lance's head. "You can go ahead and leave a mark," he whispers.

Lance feels his stomach do a strange flip then he puts one hand in Keith's hair, pulling the hair away before Lance bites down a bit harder this time. Simultaneously, he drags his nails across the back of Keith's neck. Keith head tilts back as a long soft moan escapes his lips. His back arches, causing his chest to press against Lance's.

Lance gasps a little as he licks Keith's neck before pulling away and biting down on the other side while sliding his hand up Keith's shirt to better scratch his back. Keith moans breathlessly as he melts more. He grips tighter onto Lance to keep himself from falling.

"Ok I _may_ have lied." Lance says as he unleashes Keith's neck before trailing his nails down his back a little harder. " _This_ is my favorite sound." He then latches onto the crook of Keith's neck, biting and licking at the skin there. Keith moans more. His whole body shivers and his nails start to dig into Lance's skin.

"Louder." He taunts before slowly kneeling down and biting as he trails both hands of nails down his back. Keith's eyes roll back a little as he moan louder. His mind fogs up with pleasure.

Pulling Keith on top of him, Lance scoots back until the water isn't far up their bodies. "God I will never get over how sexy that is." He kisses Keith then scratches his waist and lower back.

Keith tries to speak but instead lets out a shaky moan. He tries again," La aaaahh~ nce~"

Lance grins deviously then turns Keith around so he is sitting with his back on Lance's chest. Before Keith can argue, he slips a hand into Keith's pants and teases his head before biting his neck even harder. Keith arcs his back and lays his head on Lance's shoulder as he moans. He shakes his head despite his hips shaking for more.

Lance smirks and slowly starts to pump his hand while kissing up Keith's neck, biting here and there. He puts his other hand in the water for a minute then adds it to Keith's pants too.

"La-Lance," Keith moans, his hips starting to thrust more. He is already leaking prrcum.

"That's it." Lance hums in his ear then sticks one of his wet fingers in and works both quickly. He grins deviously as he watches Keith. Keith moans louder and he tries to bury his face into Lance's neck. His hips are up, making it easier for Lance to finger him.

Lance uses his nose to push Keith away so he can bite his neck. He slips another finger in and pushes in a bit more, hoping to hit the spot that had felt so good to him. Keith twitches and moans even louder. He couldn't control his voice anymore and he was starting to drool.

Lance grins, loving watching Keith's face. He bites down on Keith's neck and pumps faster. When he releases Keith's neck, he moves his mouth to Keith's ear. "God you are sexy." He hums.

Keith claws at Lance's legs. The sensation was overwhelming and he was already close to cumming. He tried to tell Lance but all that came out was moans. Lance doesn't let up. Instead he curls over so he can goes deeper, finally hitting Keith's prostate as he bits on the crook of Keith's neck. Keith's eyes widen as he screams in pleasure. Keith cums but nothing ejaculates.

"You ok?" Lance asks, not exactly prepares for him to scream. He slows his fingers but doesn't exactly stop his hand, waiting for Keith so say if he should.

Keith is so sensitive from just cumming that his moans are almost silent. He fights the fog in his head in order to answer Lance. "O-ok," is all he manages to say. His eyes show how out of it he is.

Lance licks Keith's neck. "Want me to stop?" He asks, hand still slowly pumping. Keith shakes his head and tries to talk again but only makes his moans louder. "No?" Lance grins then starts to pump harder before moving in to kiss Keith. He licks his jawline then resets his finger before pushing it back in too. Keith arcs his back more and his eyes roll back. He is already hard again.

Lance grins but decides he wants to give Keith something better so he slips out from behind Keith, laying him down. He keeps moving his fingers but slowly replaces his other hand with his mouth. Keith moans loudly and thrusts his hips. Keith's hands dig into Lance's hair and grips tight.

Lance adds another finger, using the water as lubrication as he thrusts faster before starting to work Keith more with his tongue. He hums into it, loving the feeling of Keith thrusting beneath him.

Keith didn't want to but he has no control of his body. His hips continue to thrust. Heat starts to build in the bit of his stomach again.

Lance hums as he feels Keith starting to throb with eminent climax. He takes all of Keith in his mouth, angling himself so he can keep moving his hands. His eyes watch Keith lose control and feels himself grow painfully hard as he does. Keith grips tighter onto Lance's hair. He pulls Lance down onto him even further right before he cums hard. His hips visibly shiver as his load releases into Lance's mouth.

Lance swallows and seems pleased to have finished Keith so well. He licks him up then carefully readjusts his pants before climbing over Keith, propped up on all fours above him, watching as Keith attempts to steady his breathing.

Keith gazes at Lance as he pants heavily. He tilts his head a little bit as he tries to get enough oxygen in his lungs. Lance smiles and runs his hand down the side of Keith's face. He bends down and kisses Keith's forehead, not wanting to take away from his oxygen just yet.

When Lance leans down, Keith loosely wraps his arms around Lance's neck. It's slow but he breathing is steadying. Lance smiles then nuzzles into Keith. "I did good?" He asks playfully. Not being able to talk just yet, Keith nods.

Lance seems pleased so he plops down into the water, making a small splash as he does and laughing before scooting in close and watching the stars. Keith cuddles close and closes his eyes.

Lance looks over to Keith and sighs. "Should I carry you home? Surely it wouldn't be good for you to sleep out here." Lance kisses his cheek.

Keith shakes his head and opens his eyes. His breathing is almost back to normal. The stars catch his attention, there was a constellation. He points to the stars and says weakly," Lion."

Lance looks up and smiles before tilting his head to see where Keith is pointing. "Humans even find stories in the stars, hm?" He looks up and shakes his head. "I don't' see it."

Keith tries his best to explain and point out the stars to Lance. It doesn't help that the constellation didn't fully form the lion shape on its own.

Lance watches as his hands move and smiles. About halfway through the explanation, Lance wasn't even looking at the sky anymore. He just enjoyed watching Keith explain it and loves how he looks under the light of the moon. "You are so magical, karmele."

Keith turns to look at Lance. "Just how magical am I?" He cuddles into Lance again and rests his head on Lance's chest.

"More magical than anything I've come across." He responds swiftly then runs his hand through Keith's hair. "You can make me see pictures where there is nothing, hear music where there is nothing but wind and feel things I never thought possible." Lance kisses Keith's forehead and sighs.

Keith chuckles. "It's not really magic but it's so complicated to explain."

"Nope. It's magic." Lance shakes his head and looks back to the sky. He puts a hand under his head and watches the stars twinkle. "Everything about meeting you has been magic.

Keith smiles and nuzzles into Lance. "Everything about you is magical, nixie."

"Nah." Lance shakes his head and smirks. "You're just biased." He laughs a little, still running his hand through Keith's hair, only looking away from the night sky to find Keith's eyes.

"So very magical," He mumbles, getting lost in Lance's eyes. He slowly leans forward until their foreheads were touching.

Lance's smile grows as their foreheads touch and he laughs a bit before pulling Keith on top of him. "If you say so." He doesn't argue, instead he leans in and kisses Keith warmly. "This..." His voice is quiet when he pulls away, "is perfect."

Keith hums and nuzzles into Lance. "I'd love to stay here all night but we should probably go home soon."

"I know." Lance says. And somehow, it doesn't actually sound sad this time. He looks down to Keith and kisses his forehead before doing his best to nuzzle into Keith. "Home to cuddle?"

"Yeah," he smiles. "Is your offer from earlier still available?" It would be nice to be carried and he was already feeling tired.

Lance nods and carefully stands, helping Keith to his feet. "I'll do my best, alright?" He lifts Keith up, carrying him wedding style. His legs are relatively steady, a huge improvement over the first day for sure. "Tired already?"

Keith wraps his arms around Lance's neck and lays his head against Lance's shoulder. "Yeah," he yawns.

Lance nuzzles Keith as best he can without losing his balance. He reaches the house and - after a few falters - opens the door. He carries Keith to their room, sitting him down at the edge of the bed before helping him out of his clothes. When he takes Keith's pants off, he sits on the ground, legs tired beneath him then takes his own pants off. "Did you want fresh clothes? Or a towel?" He asks, trying not to sound breathless.

"A towel will be fine. You should probably use one too. Do you want me to get them?" He asks as he gets up and checks how wet the bed and blanket got.

"It might be faster." Lance admits as he shivers a little. He smiles up at Keith and admires his body as he moves. The slight bit of shine from the water only makes him more beautiful to Lance. If he had tried, Lance couldn't hide how infatuated he is.

When Keith looks at Lance, he smiles and blushes. "I'll be right back then." He quickly goes to the bathroom and grabs two towels. He wraps one securely around his waist and runs back to the room. "Hey," he says before dropping the towel on Lance's head.

"Hm?" Lance smiles then pulls the towel so it's over his head but not covering his eyes. He cuddles into the softness of the towel for a second then shakily stands to dry himself off.

Keith unwraps the towel around his waist and properly drys himself off. "Sometime saying hey is another way of saying hi."

"Oh I just thought you wanted to say something." Lance dries himself off as best he can then collapses onto the bed. "Do I get to stay with you forever?"

Keith smiles and replies,"Forever and ever." He falls onto the bed and cuddles into Lance.

Lance wraps himself around Keith and nuzzles him before kissing his neck some more. "I'm glad." He hums before burying his face in Keith's neck. "I'd be...really sad without you."

"I'd be really sad too," He mumbles, burying his nose into Lance's hair.

Dragging Keith up toward the pillows, Lance makes them a nest of bundled blankets before covering them with one of the spares then cuddles close. "I hope with you you are happy. I know you won't _always_ be happy, but I want you to be...as happy as you can."

"I am happier than I have ever been before." He nuzzles into Lance. He would ask Lance if he was but he already knows the answer.

"I'm glad I can make you happy." Lance wraps his entire body around Keith. He is cold so Keith's warmth helps and he can't help but adore being so close to him. Once Keith looks comfortable, Lance starts to hum a lullaby.

Keith closes his eyes and completely relaxes. He nuzzles into Lance one more time before falling asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Lance keeps humming for a while, watching Keith fall into a deep sleep. He reaches over to the side table, having put the headphones and music box there the night previously. Starting up the music, he sits back and listens for a while. A long time passes before Lance's eyes shoot open. He pulls the headphones from his ears before he realizes, Keith is still asleep. Carefully, he puts the headphones back in and realizes...Keith's laughter is coming from inside? Too curious how this is working, Lance grabs pants and puts them on before walking through the house to find Pidge. Opening the door, Lance points at the music box. "It stole Keith's laugh."

Pidge stops what they are doing and swirls around in their chair. "The mp3 can't steal someone's laugh. I recorded Keith laughing and put the recording into the mp3."

Lance just stares at Pidge, not really understanding anything they said. "Why would you take his voice and put it in a box?"

Pidge adjusted their glasses. "I didn't steal it. I copied it."

Lance pouts a bit then squints to the device and back to Pidge. "You can copy a voice? And put it...in a box?" His eyebrows furrow. "So are all these copies of voices?"

"Yes. That's the only way to get them on there," Pidge answered. "I could record your singing too."

Lance kinks his head and looks at Pidge with squinted eyes. "Are you a witch?" He asks, completely seriously.

Pidge sighs. "No, I'm not a witch. It's human technology." They turn around and grab an old recorder. "Here," they says as they twirl back around,"Hold the button and talk. Then release and listen."

Lance takes it and holds it for a minute. "Humans say they aren't magic. But this is all pretty incredible." He holds it for a bit before holding down the button and saying 'hello?' to which it repeats and he just stares at it with his head kinked. "That's how I sound?"

"Pretty much. That's an old recorder so it's not exactly the same."

Lance looks down to it then back up to Pidge. "So I could sing for Keith and he could listen to it on something like this little music box?" He holds the button down and says a few more things, listening to himself curiously.

"Yes but we would need to record you using a better recorder." Pidge swirls back to face their desk and gets a better recorder.

Lance smiles and hugs himself before stepping up close to Pidge, curious to what they were doing. He holds his MP3 player close and the old recorder as he leans in to watch. "Does the better recorder add music?"

"No but it records your voice better and you can save what you record. Music is added on the computer." They set up the mic and plug it into their laptop.

Lance fidgets a bit and seems to get a bit nervous. He looks over to Pidge and pouts. "What if he doesn't like it?"

"I don't think he would ever not like anything of yours," Pidge said as they set up the recording program. "You could just hum and he would treasure it."

Lance smiles at the thought. "He's sweet." He looks down bashfully then shakes his head. "I just want to make him happy."

Pidge smiles slightly. "He will be more than happy. Everything is set up, let me know when you're ready."

Lance swallows a bit and fidgets with the MP3 player to keep his nerves down. He finally takes a deep breath and looks up to Pidge and nods. Once Pidge signals the go ahead, Lance starts to sing. His eyes close, somehow still nervous to sing in front of a crowd - something about years as a siren might have something to do with that - but his voice doesn't waver.

Pidge waits until Lance open his eyes, using that as a signal that he is done singing. "Your song doesn't really require music to be plaid with it." Pidge saved the recording before playing it for the ex-siren.

Lance seems almost uneasy listening to his own voice but smiles when it comes to an end. "Thank you." He nods before looking around Pidge's room. "You have so much cool stuff. None of my stuff was ever this cool."

"That's because none of this would be able to work underwater." They adjust their glasses again before swirling to face Lance. "I need the mp3 to add your recording to it. Also, you can keep the old recorder." Lance hands the player over and watches as Pidge works, amazed by their ability to do so much. He points to a couple of letters, saying the names out loud - more to himself than anything - as Pidge does whatever they're doing.

Pidge doesn't comment but is impressed that Lance knows the alphabet. Once the file is done, they hand the mp3 back. "Your voice is now in the little box."

"I still think it's some sort of magic." Lance looks at the box and moves it around in his fingers before looking back up to Pidge and smiling. "Thank you for this." He fidgets a bit then smiles again. "I'm glad I met you."

Pidge smiles slightly again. "No problem. It's fun having you around. Oh!" Pidge remembered something. "Matt found a few of your scales, would you like one? You could also give it to Keith."

"Found..." Lance looks distant for a second then smiles. "Yeah I'll give one to Keith with the song." He nods then looks for the scales curiously.

Pidge opens a drawer and opens a container. Inside is three scales. Matt has the rest. "I'm not sure if there is an actual difference other than the size so you pick."

Lance shakes his head. "They're just scales." He says before grabbing one and moving it around, watching as it catches the light. "Does it make me ungrateful for missing being...a siren?"

Pidge closes and contained and hides it in the very back of the drawer. "Would you blame Keith if he missed being human?"

"No." He shakes his head and grips the mp3 player a bit tighter. "But you've all befriended me and I've learned so much but...I...I don't know." He bows his head and sighs. "Thanks again though."

"No one thinks you're ungrateful. If you really want to be a siren again, we'll help."

"I want-" Lance starts to say it so easily he stops. The surprise is obvious before his words come. "I want to grow old with Keith. So...I'll be ok." He smiles and nods before leaving the room, setting down the mp3 player and scale then sliding back into bed.

Feeling the warmth, Keith moves towards Lance and cuddles. His face buries into Lance's neck. Lance smiles and runs his hands through Keith's hair until he falls asleep. He falls asleep and actually finds a deep sleep for the first time since becoming human.

Keith's phone started ringing. Keith groans and rolled over to grab his phone. With tired eyes, he squinted at the caller ID. It was his boss so he answered the phone. "Hello," he said sleepily.

"Good morning, Keith! This report is very urgent so you'll need to come into the office today."

"Alright."

"Have a good day!"

Lance hardly moves when Keith does, but at the sound of Keith's voice, Lance cuddles closer and tries to open his eyes. "Keith?" He questions with a groggy voice and eyes hardly open before scooting closer to him.

Keith rolls over again and cuddles with Lance. "I have to go to work today," he answers. "I'll be back before dinner."

Lance whines a little and grips him tighter. "But I'll miss you." He pouts, eyes finally open and he wraps his legs around Lance. "Can I come?"

"I... I don't think so. I'm sorry," he nuzzles into Lance's hair. "I'll come home as soon as possible."

Lance whines and cuddles into Keith but sighs. "Ok." He pouts and wraps his arms around Keith. "Do you have to go now?"

Keith checks the time on his phone. "I have a few more minutes before I have to get ready." Does anyone need the car today? Maybe Shiro should drive him to the office.

Lance cuddles then nuzzles into Keith's neck and plants a few kisses on his neck. "Few more minutes to cuddle?" He asks hopefully before giving a few more kisses.

"Of course," Keith smiles and kisses Lance's forehead. "If Shiro drive me to work, do you want to come along? Just for the drive."

Lance nods then climbs on top of Keith with a big smile. "If it means I get to spend more time with you then yes." He leans down and nuzzles Keith's cheek and laughs a bit.

Keith chuckles and nuzzles back. He send Shiro a quick text before putting it back on the side table. "I love you, my nixie," he mumbles softly.

Lance's smile grows. "Love you too, karmele!" He laughs a bit then playfully tickles Keith's neck with his hair. Keith whines and does his best to hold back his laugh. He tries to use his head to nudge Lance away.

Lance doesn't let up until Keith laughs a little then he just tilts his head and looks at Keith with a smile. "Oh!" He hops over and grabs the scale and mp3 player. "This is for you!" His smile is big as he hands Keith thr items.

Keith is surprised to see Lance's scale. He takes them carefully as examines the scale. It's just as pretty as it was when it was on Lance. "I thought the mp3 player was yours."

Lance nods before putting the earbuds in Keith's ears. "But this is for you." He smiles and messes with it for a second before seeing the song he and pidge had added last night. When he pushes play, Lance grins from ear to ear.

Keith is shocked when it starts playing. His eyes are wide. "W-when did you record this?" he asks softly so he can still hear the song.

Lance smiles and sits up proudly. "Last night. With Pidge." He nuzzles and cuddles into Keith, holding back a happy laugh as he watches Keith's face. "You can borrow it today...if you want." He adds while grinning.

Keith smiles widely and hugs Lance tight. "I'll listen to it all day at work."

Lance blushes a bit. "You don't have to listen to it _all day_." He says bashfully with his head tilted down, hoping to hide the color on his cheeks.

Keith nuzzles into Lance's hair. "Aaaaalllll day."

Lance blushes more but cuddles into Keith. "Ok. I'm glad you like it." His voice is basically a squeak as he's oddly embarrassed by someone liking his voice that much.

Keith chuckles. It's feels so nice to make Lance blush. He messes up Lance's hair and says,"I love it, thank you."

Lance just stays buried and nods. "You're welcome." He says quietly before kissing Keith's neck. Then he takes a breath and finally faces Keith. "It's the least I could do." His cheeks are still pink but he's smiling.

Keith gives Lance an eskimo kiss. He feels so happy that Lance would go out of his way to do such things for him. "Ready to get up? You'll have to wear my clothes today."

Lance nods and smiles. "That sounds fine. Ill smell like you." He gives a toothy grin then stands and climbs off the bed. "I'm still going to miss you." He pouts.

Keith gets up and nuzzles Lance. "I know. I'll miss you too. I'll try to finish my work as fast a possible, okay?"

Lance nuzzles back and nods. "I'll be waiting." He smiles then gives Keith a good kiss, placing his hand under Keith's hair.

Keith kisses back and purrs. "Stop making me not want to leave," he teases when they pull away.

Lance pouts as he pulls back. "I can't help it." He nuzzles then sighs before letting Keith go. "I love you." He almost whines.

"I love you too," he says softly. Keith leans forward and gives Lance a quick kiss. "Now, let's go see which of my clothes fit you." Keith steps up to the drawers and pulls open the pants, and underwear drawers.

Lance follows and stands close to Keith, still nuzzling him as he goes through the clothes. "And you are _sure_ you have to leave?" Lance whines again.

"Yeah, the boss told me I have to." Keith pulls out clothes for Lance. His somewhat long pants should fit Lance. "I'm sure if you talk to Pidge or Shiro, time will seem to fly by."

He nods as he takes the pants and tries them on. Looking himself over, Lance shrugs and smiles. "At least i'll be _really_ happy when you come home!" His smile grows then he hugs Keith and kisses his neck again before laughing.

Keith smiles and hugs back. "I'm sure Shiro would be willing to bring you along when it's time to pick me up."

"Ok!" Lance nuzzles then pulls himself back,trying to will himself to give Keith room to get ready. "That would be great!" He laughs a bit then pokes Keith's chest . "And then I won't let you leave my side the rest of the day."

Keith chuckles and puts on proper work clothes. "I would love that." Once he is done, he hugs Lance and picks him off the ground slightly.

Once his feet are off the ground, Lance wraps his legs around Keith's waist and laughs as he hugs him. "Good! Cuz I'm already going to go crazy with you gone all day." He nuzzles into Keith, not letting his legs down.

Keith smiles and nuzzles Lance. He then walks back to the bed and grabs the mp3 player before carrying Lance to the living room. Shiro was already changed and waiting by the door.

Lance laughs as Keith carries him, enjoying the last few minutes of closeness like this he would have before Keith leaves. He kisses Keith's neck as they reach the door then he peeks over to Shiro. "I'm coming too ok?" Lance smiles, still clinging to Keith.

"Okay," Shiro smiles. Keith sets Lance dows so they can both put on their shoes before Shiro leads them to the car. Keith is holding Lance's hand as they walk. Once they are close enough, Shiro unlocks the car which causes the car to beep twice.

Lance jumps a bit when the car makes a sound. "What'd it say?" He asks as they near the vehicle. Looking it over with head tilted, Lance squints. "I think I've seen these before. On a really big boat."

Keith chuckles. "It didn't say anything, it's just a signal to say that the car is open." He opens the back seat door for Lance to climb in first.

"Oh." Lance seems a bit disappointed but watches as the door opens. When Shiro gets in the car, Lance cautiously follows his motions then scoots super close to the far door and looks out the window. He turns and looks back, waiting for Keith to join him.

Keith climbs in and closes the door. He moves into the middle seat and helps Lance buckle in before buckling himself in. Shiro starts the car but doesn't go just yet.

Lance watches Keith with curious eyes and looks a bit annoyed by the seat belt but smiles as he cuddles into Keith. When the car starts, Lance perks up, listening to the sound carefully. He is less thrown by this sound as it somehow reminds him of repetitive sounds from under the lake. Though, his fascination for the fabric in the car can't be hidden as he runs his fingers along everything before turning back to Keith. "I'm going to miss you." He pouts again.

Keith gives Lance a sad smile and nuzzles back. "I know. You'll be picking me up with Shiro before you know it, I promise."

Lance nods and cuddles into Keith as best he can. He laces their fingers together and watches out the window, amazed by how fast everything moves. He leans in and kisses Keith's jawline before nuzzling his neck, not trying to tickle it.

Keith silently giggles. "Have fun, okay?"

"I'll try." He nods then smiles. "Do...good work and come home fast!" Lance kisses Keith's neck a few more times then sneakily gives it a little nibble before pulling back and smiling at him.

Keith blushes and playfully glares at Lance. Shiro saw this from the rear view mirror and smiled. They made it to the work building soon after that.

Lance just smiles more when Keith glares and sticks his tongue out at him before turning to see them parking. He watches as everything comes to a stop so he turns back to Keith and gives him goodbye kisses (and a good by nibble on the other side - to balance Keith out - of course) then watches Keith get out of the war. "Love you! Bye." He calls after before curling up a bit and watching him leave. If he had siren ears, the would be drooping when Keith enters the building. Sighing, Lance looks to his hands and pouts.

"Love you too. Bye," Keith says before closing the car door.


	15. Chapter 15

Shiro watches Lance through the rear view mirror. "Is there anything you want to do before we have to pick up Keith?" He is trying to get Lance excited about surprising Keith with something.

Lance shrugs and shakes his head. "I don't know." He says, still pouting. Looking up to Shiro, Lance smiles a bit, feeling bad for being so pouty. "Can you think of something I should do?" He thinks a bit. "I should practice my letters so I don't forget." He mumbles this, "that way I didn't waste Keith's time."

Shiro starts to drive again. "Do you already know the whole alphabet?"

Lance nods then remembers Shiro can't see him. "Yeah. Keith taught me. I wrote his name too. And mine. My writing isn't good though"

"Do you know how to read? If not, I can help you," Shiro offers.

"No one ever taught me." He says with a sigh before jolting and looking up at Shiro. "You don't have to do that though! I don't want to waste your time too!" His words spill out quickly

Shiro chuckles. "You aren't wasting my time. I'd be fun teaching you, I miss having to help Keith and Pidge with their homework."

"Are you sure?" Lance fidgets with his fingertips then looks back outside and sighs. "I really would like to learn." He adds quietly. "That way I can...be useful?" He tilts his head as he speaks, not sure that was what he was trying to say.

"You don't have to worry about having to do anything but if you would like to, we'll help." Shiro says as he stops at a red light. He takes a peak at Lance and flashes him another smile.

Despite the smile on his face, Lance looks a bit nervous. "I would appreciate it. I hate seeing so many squi-er, letters and not knowing what they are." He sees Shiro smile so he smiles back with a big, silly grin. "Maybe I can try really hard and write Keith a letter or something." He pauses to think then grimaces. "It'll look awful though." He groans.

The light turns green. "I'm sure he'll love it anyways. He's even able to read Pidge's rushed scribbles."

"But pidge is smart." Lance mutters then shakes his head and smiles. "I'll try though. I like making him happy." His voice perks up at even such a simple statement.

Shiro parks in front of the house and turned the car off. "To take the seat belt off, press the button next to you." Shiro points to where his is before pressing it.

Lance watches Shiro them mimics his motions. He laughs a bit when the seatbelt pops, finding it oddly amusing. Then, seeing Shiro open his door, rather than figure out how to open his own, Lance climbs to the front of the car and out Shiro's door before standing in front of him with a cheesy smile. "We can write now? Un-unless you have something else you have to do!" He smiles at Shiro again.

Shiro laughs when he noticed Lance climbing through the car. "We can write first but let me set everything up first." Shiro makes sure he won't hit Lance with the door before closing it. They go inside and Shiro prepares everything Lance will need on the living room table.

Lance nods and follows behind Shiro like his shadow. He watches Shiro curiously and sits down once there is paper and a pencil. Hoping he remembers the alphabet, Lance starts to write as Shiro is still doing whatever it is he's doing. He makes it about halfway before struggling to remember and starting to him the song Keith had taught him with his eyes closed, hoping the letters would come to mind. A few do, but eventually he just skips a handful to finish off the rest. Feeling irritated with himself for forgetting already, Lance slams the pencil down and crosses his arms grumpily.

Shiro gathers a few art materials before sitting down next to Lance. "What's wrong?" He looks at the paper. "Forgot some letters?"

Lance just grumbles and nods. "I can't even remember that. And I'm wanting to read. This is stupid." He tightens his arms, having a mini temper tantrum.

"Hey, it's not stupid. You got most of them, so that's good. Almost no one can remember everything right away. Say the alphabet again and I'll help you."

"But I didn't get them all!" He takes a deep breath and unwraps his arms, grabbing his pencil and nodding anyway. After taking a deep breath to calm down, Lance starts saying it, slowly as to write as he says it. When he gets to 'p' he forgets how to write - again - so he gets grumpy...again.

Shiro gently takes Lances hand and help his write. "It's okay, it's a lot to memorize."

Lance takes a deep breath and tries to calm down. "It's not bad?" He pouts a bit but doesn't stop trying. "They're so...precise. Nothing I ever did was like this."

"It's actually really impressive that you're able to remember so much so quickly. It would take a regular human probably a month to fully memorize all the letters and how to write them well."

Lance bows his head and blushes a bit. "R-really?" He smiles over to Shiro proudly and goes back to writing. This time after he reaches 'z' he starts writing Keith's name. "Will he be gone long?" He asks as he writes his name.

"The longest he will be gone is 8 hours but knowing Keith, it will probably shorter than that." He watches Lance with interest, finding it cute that Keith is the word that Lance goes to first.

Lance nods and smiles as he finishes Keith's name. "I want to write him something. But I don't know what he'd like." He looks up to Shiro and smiles bashfully. "Does it look ok?" Has asks before mumbling, "this is nothing like painting."

Lance's handwriting could be compared to that of a first or second grader. "It looks oka- wait painting? You know how to paint?" Shiro is completely shocked.

"Mmhmm." Lance responds casually. "Watercolor. Its how I met my first human. I use to paint a lot while on the pier with her." He looks to Shiro and is taken back by the look of surprise. "Is- is that strange?"

"uh-no. It's not- I was..." Shiro shakes his head. "I'm just surprised. I think we have some watercolor somewhere. I'll so look for them, practice the alphabet again." He pats Lance's back as he gets up. Right before he leaves the room, he looks back at Lance.

Lance didn't get his hopes up in having watercolors. He hadn't painted in a long time anyway. He takes a deep, preparatory breath and starts to write again, saying each letter as he does.

It takes Shiro a while but he does find the water colors. He can't remember who is actually belonged to but no one really has an interest in it so it should be fine. Shiro returns to the living room and announces," I found them!"

Lance perks up and smiles. "Can I paint for Keith?!" He asks excitedly. Feeling guilty, he smiles. "And if you like it I could paint for you and Matt too." Finally, he doesn't look pouty with Keith being gone.

Shiro smiles, happy that Lance is thinking about the rest of them as well. "Paint all you want. We don't use water colors."

Lance pushes the pencil aside and grabs the watercolors and paper. "These look different than the dyes Meril use to use." He says before lifting them up to smell them. "Scentless too. How strange." Looking around, Lance realizes there is no water. Knowing where it is, he gets up and fills a cup then quickly gets to work. He holds the brush as he use to when he had webbing so it's awkward, but he paints using a wide range of colors, slowly, it starts to form Keith's face surrounded by water.

Shiro can't help but watch it awe. He has seen watercolor art but watching it come to life is completely different. It's so pretty. Lance looks it over and smiles. He angles his head to look at Shiro. "Do you think it's good? Should I not have painted him first? Keith probably doesn't want a picture of himself." Lance starts off happy but by the end of the statement he seems upset with himself.

"Wh-wait, why do you think he doesn't want a picture of himself? Your art is amazing!" Shiro exclaims as he gestures to the art piece. "Keith will love it." He places a hand on Lance's shoulder.

Lance looks back to it then to Shiro with a nervous smile. "It's not as good as Meril's was. But I like it." He smiles then grabs another piece of paper. "Want me to paint you and Matt?" He thinks about it. "Well as best I can. I haven't really looked at you two as much as I have Keith."

Shiro chuckles. "Would you like a reference picture?" He doesn't really mind not being painted but he knows that Matt would be really happy about it.

Lance nods and starts painting the base colors as Shiro grabs the picture. He smiles at the photo then gets to work again. "Thank you for...well...not trusting me." He says quietly as he paints.

Shiro gives Lance a confused look. "You mean for bringing you here?" He asks, not being able to remember any other time he didn't trust Lance. He feels kind of bad for it now, forcing Lance away from his home.

Lance nods. "If you hadn't, I think Keith would have felt guilty for a long time." He smiles as he starts to loosely paint Shiro's face. "And I think...me being human has been good." He seems oddly thoughtful for how he normally acts.

"Then... I guess, you're welcome? I'm glad you're happy here."

Lance laughs and smiles up at Shiro. "I am. I don't remember being this happy ever before." He starts on Matt's face and smiles. "And you play a huge role I that."

Shiro feels really happy with the last statement. "I just wanted Keith to be happy and safe," he mumbled, looking down at his lap. "But..." He looks back up at Lance. "I want you to be safe and happy too."

Lance grins. "I'm happy." He nods then moves the painting toward Shiro. "And I have a protector." His smile grows. "Do you like it." Then he sternly point a. "It's still wet though. don't touch."

Shiro smiles. "I love it, thank you. Would you like to show Matt?"

"I don't care." Lance admits. "I should probably try writing again. I told Keith I was going to try to learn some." He sighs and looks back to the alphabet.

Shiro worries if he had said something wrong. "How about reading? I'm sure Keith will be surprised if you read him something."

"Reading sounds nice too." Lance agrees and nods. "I just don't want to not try to learn...something." He smiles and cuddles closer to Shiro.

Shiro looks down at Lance surprised. Using his right hand, he pulls out his phone and looks for a video. "I'll pull up a video that will explain the sounds of each letter." Once he finds one, he hits play and holds it for Lance to watch.

Lance takes it and watches it through once then waves it at Shiro. "How do you do it again?" He smiles, acting something like a kid rather than the siren he is. "I want to try to remember as they sound it the later names."

Shiro feels really content here. "You press the almost circle," Shiro says as he points to the replay button in the middle of the screen.

Lance smiles and nods. As he watches it again, he cuddles closer before looking at the screen confused. "Why are the sounds -c- different than the - d- names? Shouldn't it just be the - e - sound then?"

"I'm not really sure. Who ever created the alphabet decided it to be that way and since it's already known that way, no one can really change it," Shiro answers, quietly enough for Lance to still hear the video.

"Hm." Lance continues to repeat the letters. Despite not having liked Shiro a few days before, Lance kinda likes cuddling with him, which is likely obvious as he studies. "I'm probably pretty old to be learning this. But...at least I'm learning." He smiles up to Shiro then goes back to the video, starting it for a third time before reaching to grab his paper. He also apparently really enjoys learning.

Shiro doesn't say anything, just watching Lance study. It reminds him of when he was bonding with Keith. Lance is starting to feel like another younger brother. Lance puts down the phone after the third video and looks at his sloppy letters, saying the sounds as he points to them and looking to Shiro occasionally when he forgets. "You really don't mind helping?" He asks nervously once he's about halfway through.

Shiro gladly said the next letter and it's sound every time Lance looked at him. "I really don't," he answers.

Lance cuddles up and continues to study then. He smiles then thinks back to Keith's name and sounds it out by pointing to the letters. He then tries his but gets the end wrong. "L-a-n-s. Is that right?"

"Close. The last part of your name does sound like an s but it's spelled L-a-n-c-e." Shiro gently takes the pencil from Lance to write out the ex-siren's name as he spells it.

Lance grumbles but watches as Shiro spells it out. He smiles. "How do you spell your name?" He asks then starts to write his name and Keith's name. "I want to know everyone's name." He nods. "Then I will take a break."

"Okay, my name is spelled S-h-i-r-o." Shiro spells his name slowly so Lance could write at the same time. "Matt is M-a-t-t. Then Pidge is P-i-d-g-e."

Lance finishes writing then stands up and stretches. "Still no word from Keith?" He pouts.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Meanwhile, Lotor had been among others who had noticed Keith's unusually good mood. He finally knows on Keith's door. "Someone's...happy."

Keith pulls out his earbuds and glares at Lotor. "Do you need something? I'm almost done proofreading your report."

"Just commenting on your unusual attitude today is all." He raises an eyebrow, pointing things out. "Ear buds, a smile, just odd."

Keith glares more. "Why don't you mind your own business? The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can be out of here."

"Oh?" Lotor perks up. "Something exciting waiting for you? I'd think with a newly engaged couple you'd be thankful to be away."

"How did you know they got engaged?" Keith asks. He isn't on social media much so he didn't know that Matt had posted something about it. "And my private life is _private_."

"Everyone knows." Lotor waves his hand. "You think boss stayed quiet about that?" He smirks at the second sentence. "I was just curious if...I don't know...someone had garnished your attention finally."

Keith slightly blushes. "Can you please leave? I have work to do."

"Such focus!" Lotor grins and moves in, looks over the report. "Perhaps I should be singing your praises."

Keith's glare intensifies as Lotor gets closer. "No, now please leave." The mp3 was face up on his desk and the name of the file showed. 'Lance's song'

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Shiro checks his phone. "Not yet but I'm sure he is almost done." He smiles apologetically at Lance.

Lance pouts again then nods. "Ok." He says sadly then picks up his painting. "Should I try to write something for him?" He asks, despite saying he'd take a break.

"What would you want to write for him?" Shiro asks. He doesn't want Lance to accidentally mess up his painting while writing something he didn't really mean to.

"Something...pretty? Or I don't know." Lance realizes suddenly. "Maybe...something about his eyes?"

"You can, what do you say about his eyes?" Shiro asks. He isn't sure if he remembers Lance complimenting Keith's eyes in front of him before.

"They remind me of an early night sky." He smiles warmly. "I feel happy when I look at them." Lance's face glows when he talks about them.

"When you write below a painting," Shiro points to the blank spot below the Keith art piece," It looks like a title. You can write 'Early night sky'."

Lance nods and waits for Shiro to spell it out as he carefully writes it. He looks at it after and slowly tries to sound it out. "You think he will like it?" Lance smiles nervously.

"He will love it," Shiro smiles and patts Lance's back.

Lance takes it and carries it away to the room. He sets it down before collapsing onto the bed again. It smells like Keith and makes Lance somehow happy and tired all at once. Before he knows it, he's curled up and napping.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Lotor is quick to notice the file name but raises an eyebrow and says nothing at first. He moves about as he needed to find something else. "Lance, Hm? Haven't heard of that before."

Keith stiffens and quickly grabs the mp3 player. "Leave! I need to finish proofreading!"

Lotor smirks. "You've been reading without a break for hours. Thought you could use the rest." He looks to the mp3 player. "So is the new music why you're smiling? If so I really need to find out where you got it."

"You're not getting it!" Keith yelled defensively, growling slightly. He moves the player further away from Lotor.

"Now now." Lotor smirks. "I wouldn't take _yours_." He raises an eyebrow unless its one of a kind? "Perhaps from a special more friend?"

"Leave," Keith growls.

"Fine fine." He looks back only once more. "I'll have to get you to share at some point." He snickers before walking out of the room.

Keith grumbles once Lotor is gone. He opens his hand and looks down at the player with a soft smile. This is his treasure. He won't share it with anyone.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

"Lance did this?" Matt asks - once he's finally stopped studying long enough to come out of his 'lab' as he calls it.

"Yeah! Lance is really good with water colors," Shiro answered. He was holding the art piece carefully as he showed Matt. "We should frame it."

"Oh man. An art piece...done by a siren. That's like better than anything else we have on our walls." He smiles. "Plus there's a pretty cute guy in it." Matt grins and elbows Shiro. "Where is Lance by the way?"

Shiro blushes. "He went to his room. Should we check on him?"

Matt shrugs. "Yeah I'd love to say thanks." He grabs onto Shiro and squeezes. "Siren art!" Shiro chuckles and brings Matt to Keith's room. He gently knocks on the door.

Lance hears the sound and moves slowly, almost forgetting where he was. He shuffles to the door and opens it, still rubbing his eyes. "Is it time to get Keith?" He asks sleepily.

Shiro check his phone. No text yet but it's almost time that Keith would usually get done. "In a bit but Matt wanted to talk to you first."

"That painting is amazing thank you!" He grabs Lance in a hug which just makes Lance awkwardly freeze up. It's obvious he isn't use to not being the one to initiate a hug.

"It- it was nothing." Lance says bashfully then looks to Shiro. "He should be done soon!? Can we go wait for him?"

Shiro smiles. "Yeah, we can go now. Are you fully changed?" He asks, noting that Lance was still shirtless.

"Do I need more?" Lance touches his chest then looks up to Shiro and Matt, noting they are both wearing shirts. "I don't _like_ shirts but I can wear one?" He looks gloomily at the box that holds most of Keith's shirts.

"No! I didn't mean you have to!" Shiro holds a hand out like a stop sign. "I... I just wanted to make sure you're ready."

Lance perks backup and darts toward the door. Matt follows behind, obviously finding it hilariously adorable how excited Lance is. "I can't wait to see Karmele again!" He basically sings the words while darting -as fast as his legs let him - to the front door.

"Karmele?" Shiro asks. He knows that Lance is referring to Keith but where did the oet name come from? Is it a merpeople one?

"It means my song." Lance responds with a smile. "He wanted to know some of the things merfolk call each other. I thought the best one was Karmele for him." He smiles and hugs himself. At almost the same time, Matt grabs Shiro, feigning passing out.  
"I can't do this Shiro. They're too damn cute."

Shiro laughs as he holds Matt. "They are really cute together," Shiro agrees. "Are you coming with us to pick up Keith?"

Matt slips on shoes and puts a hand on his hip. "And miss a chance to see embarrassed Keith as Lance charges him in the parking lot?"  
Lance looks back to the two of them, anxiously waiting for them to go outside. He smiles, not wanting to tell them to hurry but...really wanting them to hurry.

Shiro slips on his shoes. "Of course," he laughs as they exit the house. Shiro unlocks the car and waits for Lance to get in first. "Do you need help with your seat belt?"

Lance crawls in, as he had with Keith. He looks up to Shiro and determinedly shakes his head. Watching Matt and Shiro do theirs, Lance tries to do it. After a couple failed attempts it clicks into place. Then he looks up and excitedly smiles at Shiro. "Time to get Keith?!"

Matt just covers his face, trying hard to hide the smile. "We were never this cute. You can't even lie to me."

Shiro laughs, "I think it would make other feels uncomfortable if we were that cute." Their physical image doesn't fit a cute personality all that well. Shiro turned the car on and slowly starts going. "Time to get Keith!"

Lance grins excitedly and watches outside the window, hoping he can see Keith when they get close. He wiggles in his seats bit. "Should I do anything special when he gets done with working? Like, is it hard? Should I sing or give him a massage?" Lance is so anxious he's sort of rambling.

"You might be right there." Matt responds to Shiro then smirks. "Plus I fail hard enough at being romantic without being that cute so..."

Shiro chuckles and whispers," You're romantic enough for me." He then checks his rear view mirror for a second. "You can do whatever you like. I'm sure he would at least want a welcome back hug."

"You just pull on this thing to open the door right?" Lance points to the handle. "I'll wait for him outside as soon as we get there!" He says excitedly. Lance can hardly sit still as he watches everything fly by outside.

Shiro chuckles. "Alright, we're about to park so wait a little bit longer."

Lance nods and waits for them to park then looks to Shiro with his hands on the handle. "Now?!" He asks excitedly.

"Yes, now," Shiro laughs.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Keith stretches in his seat. He is finally done. He sends Shiro a quick text as he stands up. He grabs the mp3 player with a smile and speeds walk out of the office. He's so in a rush to see Lance again that he doesn't notice Lotor watching him as he leaves.

Lotor watches Keith with an eyebrow raised. He decides to follow behind to see if he can spy what had Keith acting so unusual.

Keith is too impatient to wait for the elevator so he takes the stairs, going down them as fast as he can.

Lotor groans and decides to swipe into the service elevator. He gets to the first floor and watches quietly for Keith to head outside.

Keith runs out the building and to where Shiro dropped him off. Once Lance is in view, he starts running faster. "Lance!" Keith yells excitedly.

Lance glows when he sees Keith and hurries over to him and grabs him in a high before nuzzling into him and kissing his neck. "I missed you so much Karmele." He practically sings the words between kisses.

Lotor watches from a distance and finds it odd how Keith was acting. Maybe his father was right After all.

Keith hugs Lance tight and says,"I missed you too, ny nixie." He hugs Lance tighter. "So much."

Lance kisses his neck a few more times before looking back to see someone watching them. He shakes the feeling off by nuzzling Keith and playfully nibbling his neck. "I learned letter sounds today!" He says proudly. "Shiro helped." He grins then gives Keith and Eskimo kiss before peaking to see if the person was still there. Thankfully they were gone. Lance sighs, feeling relieved by this.

"That's amazing!" Keith smiles widely. "Was it fun? I kept my promise and listened to your song aaallll day." He smirks, knowing that he can make Lance blush with that.

Lance does indeed blush and buries his face. "You-you didn't have to do that." He says quietly as he wraps his arms around Keith tighter. "Do you want to go home? I could give you a massage? Plus I have something there for you!" He smiles again, despite his cheeks being pink

"I'd love to go home." He nuzzles his nose against Lance's neck. "What did you get for me?" He asks, assuming Shiro took Lance out to buy things.

Lance shakes his head. "I didn't get you anything." He says with a smile before poking Keith's nose. "I _made_ you something." As they get in the car, Lance adds, "I made one for them too."

Keith eyes shine. "You made me something?!" Shiro laughs at the reaction and starts the car back up. He waits till the two buckle themselves in before going.

"I did!" His smile grows seeing Keith's reaction. "Shiro says you'll like it. And he helped with it but I tried hard." He nuzzles into Keith and kisses his neck some more. "I'm so glad you're back!"

Keith purrs happily and nuzzles back. "I'm so glad to be with you again."

"Did work go well?" Lance asks as he runs his fingers through Keith's hair and kisses his neck.

"It went okay. Someone kept bothering me near the end which made me take longer proofreading," Keith complained as he melted in Lance's hands. "It made me miss you more."

"Awww." Lance starts before nibbling Keith's neck a little and deviously smiling at him. "Well, I'm here now." He says before kissing him over the invisible bite marks.

"Wait someone actually came and talked with you?" Matt says surprised. "That's unusual. Must be boring without me causing chaos at every turn there."

Keith hums softly in pleasure, his cheeks becoming red. He turned to look at Matt. "It was Lotor. He was being nosy."

Lance likes watching Keith's cheeks turn red so he licks up his neck the nibbles just beneath his ear.

"Ugh. Of course he was." Matt groans then shrugs. "At least we will be home soon. Pizza tonight?" He looks at Shiro as if asking permission to have pizza for the second time that week.

"Sure, but I think there is an event at the ferris wheel tonight," Shiro answered. At the same time, Keith shivers and groans softly because of Lance. Realizing that Matt or Shiro could easily see them, he flinches away and lightly glares at Lance. His cheeks are still red.

"Ohh that could be fun too." Matt has missed the sound, being too interested in the thought of going to the ferris wheel. "Get some elephant ears and butterfly chips."

"You eat butterflies?!" Lance says in shock before looking back to Keith with a smile. "What?" He asks playfully.

Keith exaggerates a pout. "It's not actual butterflies," Shiro explains," We just call them that because of how it looks."

"Oh." Lance seems relieved then looks at Keith with a pout and his head tilted. Seeing his pout, Lance leans in and kisses him deeply. "No being sad." He says when he pulls away.

Keith tries to keep pouting but is slowly breaks into a smile. One he is fully smiling, he leans forward and leans his forehead against Lance's.

Lance smiles and buries his fingers into Keith's hair and sighs. "I really. _really_ love you Karmele." He says while staring into his eyes.

"I love you with all of my heart, nixie. I love you so much," he whispers. Shiro slows the car to park in front of the house but doesn't say anything to ruin the moment.

"I'm so glad." Lance hums with a grin before nuzzling Keith. When he notices the car is stopped, Lance hurriedly opens the door and pulls for Keith to follow. "Come on! I want to give you your present!" He smiles brilliantly then turns to Shiro and quickly give him a hug. "Thank you again for helping!"

"You're welcome." Shiro manages to pats Lance's back before the hyper teen runs towards the door. Keith has to open the door and then Lance pulls him through the house to their room. The entire way, Keith is smiling and feeling excited to see the surprise.

Lance drags him into the room and swipes up the painting, grinning ear to ear as he does before rambling. "Its you! I should have done something else and I realized it afterwards but I really liked it. Probably because I really like you. I'm biased right? I really hope you like it?" He looks to Keith waiting for a reaction nervously.

Keith stares wide eyes as he slowly touches the backside of the painting. It looks so amazing and Lance even titled it after his eyes. "It's... So amazing," he says breathlessly.

Lance smiles before slowly reading the words below. "Starry ni...night sky" he looks up at Keith blushing a little. "You really like it?"

"I love it," Keith says softly. He carefully takes it and sets it aside to hug Lance tightly. "It looks so amazing. Thank you."

Lance blushes again. "It isn't that good." He shakes his head but nuzzles into Keith. "But I'm glad you like it."

Keith nudges Lance's head with his before kissing him deeply. He should make something for Lance later. Lance wraps his arms around Keith and hums into the kiss. His hands run up Keith's back until they find his hair. He pushes himself close, having sincerely missed the feeling of them together.

Keith's hands travel down to rest on Lance's lower back. He licks Lance's lips, asking for permission. Lance happily opens his mouth before slowly pulling the two of them into the bed. He hums into the kiss before his hands scratch down Keith's back once.

Keith slips his tongue in and rubs it against Lance's before rubbing it against the roof of Lance's mouth. When Lance scratches his back, his tongue freezes as he moans softly.

Lance can't help but melt at the sound and eagerly push into Keith, nearly moaning at the sound alone. He finally pulls away, hands back in Keith's hair. "I really missed you." He says with a smirk before pulling Keith onto his lap and kissing up his neck and teasingly biting back down.

"I really missed yo- ahh~" Keith's body shivers. "Lance," he whines," Harder." Lance bites down hard in the crook of Keith's neck and pulls his hair with one hand while using the other to pull his his into the hardness growing in his pants.

Keith moans loudly and his eyes roll back a little. Once Lance releases his neck he leans his head down to bite Lance's neck, but not as hard.

Lance whines a little, he hadn't been expecting it but obviously likes it as he pushes keith's head gently, hoping it shows he likes it. He uses his arm to rock Keith back and forth on his lap, releasing tiny moans as he does.

Keith bites a little harder. He grinds his hips against Lance, wanting more friction. Keith gets his hands out from under Lance and moves one up to Lance's chest.

Lance moans more, especially when Keith starts grinding harder against him. He looks at Keith best he can then bites his lip, hoping to muffle his moans a bit. "Keith-ah." He gasps put Keith's name, becoming increasingly sensitive.

"Lance," he moans when he releases Lance's neck. His rubs his hand over Lance's nipple as the other hand starts to undress them.

Lance shivers. What an odd spot to be sensitive. He moves so Keith can more easily get undressed. When Keith's shirt is off, Lance leans down and starts to suck on his nipple. Keith arcs his back, pushing his chest into Lance's face more. He moans shakily as he tries to continue pleasuring Lance.

Lance grins when he feels Keith arcing and shaking. He spins quickly so he can slam Keith down onto the bed. Smirking, he bites Keith hard then scratches down his chest, stopping his hands at the edge of Keith's pants. "I adore how you sound." He whispers before leaning down and lightly biting Keith's nipple.

Keith pants lightly when they flip. He moans more when Lance bites his nipples. His hands bury into Lance's hair and pulls him closer.

Lance grins then bites him again before slipping a hand down his back to claw at the skin there. Once he's decided Keith is worked up enough, he moves to his waist to take his pants off, being sure to kiss his way down Keith's thighs and he does. When he climbs back, Lance has an eyebrow raised. "What would you like of me?" He asks, already breathless from lust.

Keith shivers and sits up slightly in order to watch Lance. "T-turn," Keith stutters, wanting to do 69 again. Lance agrees, but not before climbing on top of Keith to hungrily make out with him, toying with his neck before biting his way down Keith's chest. Once he is in the position they had used in the park, Lance teasingly licks Keith's tip and wraps a hand around it, slowly caressing his length.

Keith moans before taking Lance into his mouth. He wraps an arm around Lance to push Lance's hip down towards him. He continues to moan around Lance's dick as he licks and sucks.

Lance moans and can't help but gasp. He hadn't been expecting Keith to be so forward. Its dizzyingly attractive. After reeling himself back in, Lance takes as much of Keith into his mouth as he can, licking his length and using one hand to hold Keith's ass.

Keith moans louder and tilts his head back but since he is holding Lance so close, the dick in his mouth doesn't fall out. His hip muscles twitching from the pleasure, casing him to buck slightly.

Feeling Keith start to buck, Lance starts deep throating him, groaning in pleasure. He grips tight on Keith' ass and cant help but release awkwardly muffled moans and he is growing dizzy with lust. Keith moans louder as his climax starts to build. He tries to call Lance's name but it gets muffled.

Lance can feel Keith growing and knows that means he will climax soon. Hoping to help, he moves his hand from Keith's ass and scratches down his back while continuing to suck him off. He can feel himself getting close too so he whines.

Keith whines in response. His nails dig into Lance's back as his moans get louder. He bucks his hip one more time before cumming with a long moan.

Lance had been close and both feeling and hearing Keith finish made him follow soon after. He tries to let Keith know with a few frantic scratches.

The scratches bring him back to his senses just enough to prevent him from choking on Lance's cum. He manages to swallow the cum then licks Lance clean.

Lance shivers and collapses back on the bed, breathless. He tries to reach out for Keith as he attempts to steady his breath. Keith groans as he moves to cuddle with Lance. "Was that good?" Keith asks with a slight smirk.

Lance nods as he wraps his arms around Keith. "So good." He agrees quietly as he kisses Keith's neck. "I love you." He gasps as he cuddles close.

"I love you too," he whispers and kisses Lance's forehead. "Do you want to go to the festival with everyone later?"

"If you want to." Lance says with a smile. "I've never seen a festival." He runs his hand through Keith's hair.

Keith smiles and melts at Lance's touch. "It will be a lot of fun."

"If I'm with you it will be fun." Lance nuzzles him then kisses his neck. "I'm so unbelievably happy with you karmele."

Keith's heart flutters. "I so happy with you too nixie. Even my coworkers notice how uncharacteristically happy I am."

Lance's smile grows ad he cuddles playfully. "Really? I make you that happy?"

"Yes. You make my so happy, my nixie." He nuzzles his nose into Lance's hair. "I'm like a whole new person with you."

Lance laughs a little then props himself up with his arm and smiles at Keith. "I'm a whole new race with you." He teases a little.

Keith chuckles. He wraps an arm around Lance and pulls him on top. "We're so much better together," he mumbles.

Lance grins and leans down to kiss Keith and nuzzle him playfully. "Agreed." He puts his hands into Keith's hair and sighs. "I can't get over how gorgeous you are."

He chuckles again. "I'm a very rare early night sky," he teases. "But you're my deep sea." Keith isn't sure if Lance understands or if it even sounded how he meant it to be.

Lance smiles and runs his fingers down Keith's cheek. "You are the best." He puts his forehead against Keith's and giggles. "I didn't do anything to deserve you. "

"You survived," Keith mumbled. "You lived long enough for us to meet. You suffered being alone for so long."

Lance nuzzles and sighs. "I suppose there is that. I sure would have loved to had you around long ago." He kisses Keith's jawline. "But I'm thankful to have found you at last."

Keith smiles and purrs. "Do you want to stay in bed or should we hang up your painting somewhere?"

"That's up to you." Lance smiles. "It's your present. You get to decide." He cuddles and draws gentle circles on Keith's chest.

Keith hums in thought. He really does want to frame Lance's artwork but cuddling is so much nicer at the moment. "We'll do it later."

Lance smiles then traces his fingers over Keith's ear. "Anything you like." He says quietly. "My Karmele."

Keith purrs and whispers," My nixie."

Lance hops on top of Keith again, sitting on his waist as he looks down at him with a goofy grin. "So what is a festival? It has chips that look like butterflies and a wheel. Anything else."

"A lot of food, small mini games, and prizes. I got this," Keith reaches under his pillow and pulls out a small hippo plushie,"From my very first festival with Shiro."

"It's cute! That's a hippopotamus right?" He leans in and nuzzles its nose with his own. "What's his name?" Then he perks up even more. "I want to win one too!"

"I was young but I uh... Named him Bora. It means purple in korean." Keith blushed lightly.

"That's so cute." Lance smiles at the hippo. "Hello Bora~" He says to the stuffed animal before looking up to Keith and nuzzling him.

Keith blushes more. "H-hello," Keith stutters while waving the stuff animals front leg.

Lance looks back to Keith and giggles before petting Bora's head and smiling. "Very cute hippo for a very cute human." His grin grows more. Keith blushes more and slowly falls into Lance, hiding his face in his boyfriend's neck. Lance runs his hands through his hair and kisses his head. "Why are you hiding karmele? I love your blushing face."

Keith whines and nuzzles his face further into Lance's neck. Lance sighs and runs his fingers through Keith's hair. "Would you like to get dressed for the festival my love?"

Keith's heart skips a beat. It's so different when he is called by a pet name that he is so used to hearing between couples. Not trusting his voice to actually work, he just nods but doesn't move otherwise. Lance smiles and stands up and reaches for Keith's hand. Glowing, Lance holds Keith's hand gently.

Keith's face is still red as he takes Lance's hand. Once he is on his feet, he hugs Lance and throws Bora back onto the bed.

Lance pulls Keith into his arms. "Well, let's get you dressed." He says teasingly. "Let's let you get dressed."

Keith chuckles. "Do you want to wear a shirt this time?" he asks as he slowly pulls away from Lance. "You were cold last time." He starts digging through his drawers.

Lance thinks for a moment then nods. "Yeah...probably." He looks at Keith and nods a little. "For sure." Then he cuddles close to Keith as he looks through the drawers. "But I don't want to ."

"I know," he whispers and he nuzzles his nose against Lance's cheek,"Find a really soft one, okay?" Keith pulls out a random shirt for himself. He knows he has at least one really soft one somewhere.

Lance seems very pleased by this so he smiles then kisses down Keith's back and smiles. "Pick one for me." He smiles brilliantly.

Keith blushes again. "Okay." He throws the shirt he is holding onto the bed before digging for a soft shirt for Lance. It takes him a minute but he finds a soft one and hands it to Lance. "Soft one just for you."

Lance takes it and cuddles it then nods. After a bit of a struggle, he gets the shirt on then looks to Keith. "Does-does it look okay?" He looks down at himself awkwardly, clearly not sure how to feel about it.

Keith quickly puts on his before looking at Lance. "Looks perfect." He gives Lance a quick kiss before pulling out pants for the two of them.

Lance grins and watches Keith with love in his eyes. "You look perfect too." He sighs while watching at him.

He hands Lance pants before starting to put on his own. "You're more perfect."

Lance sticks his tongue out as he puts his pants on. "Nope." He nearly stumbles over while putting the pants on. "I don't agree." His nose crinkles and he giggles. "Well, time to go."

Keith chuckles and entwines his fingers with Lance's as they leave the room. Shiro and Matt were already in the living room but Pidge has yet to come out of their room.

Lance cuddles up close to Keith and smiles at Matt and Shiro. "So...should we go get Pidge? They are probably talking with code."

Shiro laughs. Lance is so adorable. "Would you like to go get Pidge?" He asks.

"Should I?" He looks at Keith then over toward Pidge's room. "I like Pidge. They're coming right?"

"They are coming," Shiro conforms. "Matt told them about it but Pidge hasn't come out yet."

"Do you want to? Matt could do it," Keith says.

Lance just smiles and darts over to Pidge's room before opening it. "Pidge we have to go to the wheel and have chips that look like butterflies!" He says once he enters the room.

Pidge has headphones on and is too focused on their coding to hear Lance. Lance grins and walks over to Pidge and pokes their cheek. "Time for the wheel and butterfly chips!" He says excitedly.

Pidge flinches when Lance pokes them. They take their headphones off and sets them down on the desk. "You mean the festival?" Pidge asks as they turn their chair towards Lance."It's time to go already?"

Lance nods and smiles. "I even put a shirt on for it!" He looks proud. "I wanted to make sure you could get chips with us! They look like butterflies I guess?"

"They are thin and wavy," Pidge says as they stand up. They follows a very excited Lance to the living room.

Lance motions toward Pidge. "Pidge was talking to code!" He smiles happily then clings to Keith, giving him a quick kiss on the neck.

Keith smiles and leans his head against Lance's. "Alright, let's go," Shiro says and is the first to put on their shoes. Everyone left the house and entered the car. Shiro driving like always with Matt in the passenger seat. Lance sits behind Shiro with Keith next to him and Pidge behind Matt.

Lance cuddles up close to Keith and watches out the window. Matt had taken to playing some game on his phone while waiting to get to the festival so he wasn't talking much. Kissing up Keith's neck, Lance whispers in Keith's ear. "Is it far?"

"It's a little far. If you want, you can take a nap to get there faster." Keith fought the tiredness that threatened to kick in.

Lance shook his head. "I was just curious." He looks out the window, gripping Keith's hand tight. "The human world is so big." His voice is quiet, amazed by everything he can see as he cuddles with Keith.

"Sometimes it feels so small," he mumbles as he rests his head on Lance's shoulder.

"Why do you say that?" Lance cuddles into him and smiles. He could stay like this forever and he wouldn't mind.

"Sometimes you run into stranger that so happens to be your friend's friend," Keith answers before yawning. "Other times you find someone so amazing so close to you that you wonder how you didn't find them sooner."

Lance blushes a little, feeling the last bit might be about him. He starts to run his fingers through Keith's hair. "Rest if you need love." He had noticed Keith's stronger reaction to that name so he kind of liked it. "I'll be here."

Keith completely melted and started to close his eyes. "Promise?" Keith whispered sleepily.

Lance kisses his head and smiles. "I'm never leaving you." He assures then continues running his fingers through Keith's hair, waiting for him to fall asleep before looking up to Shiro. "He's so cute. I keep expecting to wake up and none of this be real."

Shiro chuckles, "That's the typical feeling when you're a new couple." Pidge finally looks up from their phone and quickly switching to camera mode to take a few pictures of the overly sweet couple.

Lance grins and keeps running his fingers through Keith's hair before noticing Pidge pointing their message box at him. "What are you doing?" He asks with his head tilted.

"Taking pictures. Keith will _love_ to have some of the two of you," Pidge smirks.

Lance nuzzles against Keith, not exactly understanding sarcasm yet. He smiles at Keith then looks back to Pidge. "How do you take pictures with your message box?

Pidge smirks more. They reach into Keith's pocket to get his phone. They unlocked the phone and put it to camera mode. They angles the screen to Lance and pointed at the big round button in the middle. "You just push this button. It'll take a picture of whatever is on the screen."

Lance takes it and watches himself in the camera for a second, still baffled that _that_ is what he looks like. He makes a couple of silly smiles and takes the picture before angling so he can cuddle against Keith and take another picture of the two of them. Laughing a bit, he messes up Keith's hair and does it again. "I like these."

Pidge chuckles, only Matt and Shiro tell that there was a slight hint of evil in it. "Are you not tired at all?" Shiro asks,"We have about 20 more minutes."

Lance shakes his head. "There's too much to see to be tired." He says with a grin before taking a few more pictures. However, cuddling into Keith and quietly staring out the window, watching everything go by does make him zone out for a bit longer than he realized.


	16. Chapter 16

They arrived to the festival relatively early compared to the big event but the parking was already practically full. Shiro parks a bit of a walking distance away. "Alright, we're here," he announces.

Lance looks toward the festival and his eyes light up more than the lights of the festival. He gently shakes and kisses Keith to wake up. "We're here Karmele! Wake up!" His voice is quiet but excited.

Keith groans and slowly opens his eyes. He looked outside and saw that they the festival. He lifted his head off of Lance, unbuckled and stretched as much as he can inside the car. Shiro, Matt, and Pidge were already getting out of the car. Lance kisses Keith's neck excitedly then fixes his hair a little, laughing at the sleepy face. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," Keith mumbles. He unbuckles Lance and leads him out of the car. Once they are both out, Keith grabs Lance's hand and lays his head back on Lance's shoulder.

Matt elbows Shiro with a smirk. "So, we hoping to get stuck on the ferris wheel again?" His smile grows devious. "It was fun last time."

Shiro blushes slightly. "So long as we don't break anything."

Lance nuzzles into him and sighs. "You're so amazing. This is so amazing. Being human is kind of amazing." He laughs then watches as Shiro blushes and is surprised. Listening as Matt laughs in response, Lance assumes it was a joke or something. "Break things? But isn't that the most fun?"

Shiro sighs. "We aren't going to break the ferris wheel." Keith lifts up his head to look at them.

"Did you guys break it last time?"

"We didn't break it." Matt says quickly then smirks. "But we enjoyed it being broken down. And I'm fairly certain Shiro _thought_ we were going to break it." He laughs a bit.  
Lance is walking kind of slowly and watching all the lights curiously. He grips Keith's hand tighter.

Shiro blushes more. "They were not built to be a place for such activities!"

"I dunno. I've heard of plenty of others do the same thing." Matt snickers then elbows Shiro again.

Shiro blushes more and shakes his head. "Eeewww," Pidge says, reminded the older couple that they were still here.

"Oh whatever pidgeon." Matt playfully shoves them before messing up their hair. "We're _too old_ for that anyway." He says before giving Shiro a playful snicker. Shiro just look away, hiding his ever growing blush.

Keith grips Lance's hand just as tight. "Let me know if anything catches your eye, okay?"

Lance nods. "It all looks incredible. Can we try to win me a bora?" He says suddenly.

Keith is surprised, Lance really wants a matching hippo. He really shouldn't be surprised at this point though. "Y-yeah. We just have to find a game that has Bora as a prize."

"Yay!" He cuddles close to Keith and kisses his neck. "Then Bora will have a friend!"

Keith smiles goofily as he nuzzles his nose into Lance's hair. "Yeah!"

Lance sees one of the smaller rides and darts over to it, watching it move with awe. "Human stuff is so cool." He says with a giggle, not realizing how odd that statement is coming from a "human." He looks over at Keith. "It's moving! It looks fun!"

Keith chuckles. "Do you want to go on it?"

"Can we?!" Lance jumps around a bit then grabs Keith in a hug. "Thank you for all of this! It's so exciting!"

Keith smiles more. "No need to thank me," he says as he digs out his wallet. Keith gives the worker cash for the two of them. Luckily the line isn't too long so they were in the next group in, they just needed to wait till everyone from the last group is off.

Lance nuzzles him close and kisses his neck. "But I want to thank you. Without you I would never have seen all of...this." He motions to the lights and the rides with a huge smile. "It's all too much to take in without saying thank you a million times, ok?"

Keith chuckles. "Then I'll only say 'you're welcome' to the very last one."

"Then you'll be waiting a long time." Lance leans in and kisses Keith deeply, wrapping his arms around him with a smile. "Because I will say this for years." Keith blushes and smiles. He was about to kiss Lance but the worker in charge of the gate opened it and let them in.

Excitedly, Lance drags Keith toward the ride and looks it over with a smile. They sit down and he anxiously waits for it to start. "You are the best thing to have happened to me Karmele!"

"Same to you Nixie," he whispers happily. Once everyone else was on, the ride started.

Lance laughs once the ride is in motion, certainly not use to such a feeling, but loving the feeling of the wind in his hair. He looks over to Keith and flashes him a toothy grin then laughs again. Keith chuckles and watches Lance's reaction as the ride starts to spin as well.

Lance laughs more on this silly ride than he can remember before. Watching Keith only makes his heart flutter as he sees Keith's smile. When the ride comes to an end, Lance doesn't move as the world is spinning way too fast. "So this is being dizzy." He says, eyes still not focusing right. "It's...kinda funny."

Keith laughs. He stands up and gently helps Lance stand. "You don't feel sick?" Keith asks, just wanting to make sure.

Lance shakes his head and laughs. "Just really spinny." He starts to walk and is _clearly_ very dizzy with the way he moves so he clings tight to Keith. "Walking is harder than usual right now."

Keith holds onto Lance tight as he guides to a place to sit. "Sometimes people can't stand when their dizzy."

"That's why swimming is better." He laughs then follows Keith with wobbly footing until they find a bench. Lance takes his seat and cuddles into Keith as he looks around. "This is really amazing." His voice is barely loud enough to be heard over the hustle and bustle of the festival. "It's so bright and colorful. And we will have to get butterfly chips soon. I want to see them."

Keith nuzzles into Lance's hair. "Do you want to eat just the two of us or with the others?"

Lance looks at Keith with almost guilty eyes. "Just us?" He pouts. "If-if that's okay anyway." He nuzzles and kisses Keith's neck.

"That's perfectly okay," he mumbles. "Do you want to get anything to drink? There is a lot of sweet stuff here."

Lance smiles and nods. "I want whatever sounds good to you!" He chirps before rubbing his eyes to try to help rid himself of the dizziness. "And butterfly chips."

Keith chuckles. "Yes, and butterfly chips." He nuzzles again. "Let me know when you're ready."

Lance looks around and nods. "I think I'm a bit better now, yeah." He stands up and the world isn't spinning as much so he smiles. "Lets go get chips and sweet drinks! I'm hungry."

Keith holds Lance's hand as they walk around looking for the food booth. Once they find the one with butterfly chips, they get in line. "Do you know any flavors you like? Or any color drink that looks good?" He asked as he pointed to the menu with pictures.

"I like the orange drink. It looks pretty." He grins then looks at the pictures and shrugs. "I am fine having whatever flavor you want." Lance cuddles close then tries to sound out a couple of words, knowing full well he's struggling harder than he'd like to, Lance is determined to find one at least. A couple people look at the boy and can't help but give him an odd look.

Keith would whisper the word slowly to help Lance after letting him try a few times. Once it was their turn he ordered butterfly chips, the orange smoothie, and a strawberry smoothie. When their order is done, he moves Lances arm to be around his instead of them holding hands. He gives the orange drink to Lance and grabs the chips and his drink before going to a table.

Lance looks down to the chips with an eyebrow raised before mumbling, "These look nothing like butterflies." He follows Keith to the table and takes a drink of his smoothie. He definitely likes that, though the headache he gets after drinking too much he doesn't like. "Is there anything you really wanted to do today?" He asks while grabbing a chip and trying it - even though it doesn't look like a butterfly.

"Not really but we still have to get you a hippo. We could also go on the ferris wheel,"Keith points to it,"The big wheel." He then takes a sip of his drink.

Lance looks up to it and gasps. "It's so tall!" He says in surprise then takes another bite of the chips. "I want to go on it for sure."

Keith smiles. "There's no rush so take your time." He grabs a chip and eats it.

Lance leans in and kisses Keith's jawline then steals his next chip with a laugh. "But there's so much to see!"

Keith stares at his empty hand for a second before lightly glaring at Lance. "That was my chip."

"Nope." He smiles, "It was mine because I ate it." Lance then leans in and kisses Keith, slipping his tongue in for just a second before pulling away again. "But I can share, see?" Keith's whole face turns red and he quickly switches to drinking his smoothie.

After Lance eats a few more chips, he grabs one and holds it out for Lance to eat. With a smile, Lance takes the chip, giggling a bit that he managed to make Keith blush. "Love you Karmele." He says once his mouth is clear. Taking another drink of the smoothie, careful now to not take too big of a drink, Lance's eyes smile at Keith.

Keith blushes more but also melts. "Love you too Nixie," he says just loud enough for Lance to hear it like a whisper.

Lance smiles then looks down to see his smoothie is basically empty. He stands up and stretches then offers his hand to Keith again with a grin. "Let's go win me a Bora then go on the big wheel."

Keith, still drinking his smoothie, takes Lance's hand. All that's left of the chips are crumbs so that's just a quick toss in the garbage.

Lance follows aimlessly behind Keith, looking at everything he sees with such interest he puts most of the kids' amazement to shame. His grip on Keith's hand is tight and only tightens more when he sees the pirate ship ride. It's no surprise he quickly moves past it. "So, where do you get a Bora?"

"The prizes aren't always the same. I got Bora from a throwing game but if there is any other animal you want, we can try and win it," Keith says as he continues scanning over all the prize plushies.

Lance follows behind and looks over all the prizes before pointing to a silly looking shark and gripping Keith's arm. "That one!" He wiggles Keith's arm around with a big grin on his face. "I want the shark!"

Keith smiles widely, loving how excited Lance is. "Do you want to try first?" He asks as they walk up to the booth.

"What do I do?!" Lance looks over the game. There's a hammer and a scale. Not that he knows what either of those are. However, after asking Keith, someone else takes their turn at the game and Lance watches it. "You just hit it?"

"Yeah, as hard as you can." The person almost made it to the bell. "You have to make it hit the bell," he says as they step up for their turn.

Lance pouts his lip and looks to Keith. "Why do you have to hit it?" He walks up to the game and takes a deep breath before trying, but something about being not so good on his feet and trying to hit a spot with a hammer has him stumble more than anything so it doesn't go so far up that it's even close to hitting the bell. This only makes him pout more and blush a little. He hates feeling this weak.

Keith kisses Lance's cheek. He then hands the booth person money for two tries. "Do you want to try together?" Keith asks as he takes the hammer.

Lance pouts but looks happy. "You don't think I'd just be in the way?" He nuzzles Keith and kisses his neck once.

"You won't be." He nuzzles back. "So... Shall we?" He asks while lifting the hammer a little.

Lance cuddles close and nods before grabbing the hammer with him. "I feel like I'm going to just hold you back, but I'll try!" He smiles at him then gives it his all with Keith.

Keith smiles. "Alright, up." They lifted the hammer and held it above their head. "Down on three." Keith smirks as he stares at the target. "One... Two... Three!" They slam the hammer down on the red button and the bell rings second later.

Lance hears the bell and his eyes light up. He hugs Keith tight and laughs before pointing to the stuffed shark. "What should we name him?!" His voice is excited but his eyes sparkle more than anything as he is handed the goofy looking shark plushy. Hugging it tight, Lance looks back to Keith and kisses his cheek. "Thank you."

Keith is about to responds but stops himself. It's not the last one. "Do any names come to mind?" He asks. "Sharky is a pretty common one for sharks."

Lance thinks on it for a bit then smiles. "I'll call him Chomp." He chomps his own teeth after he says it then scoots up to Keith and nuzzles him. "Chomp and Bora will be good friends I bet." Placing a gentle kiss on Keith's neck, Lance turns to look at the Ferris wheel and realizes it's even taller than he thought. "Wow. It goes way up." He says in awe.

"It's suuuuuuuuper tall," Keith laughs. He can imagine Lance placing Chomp next to Bora on the bed and saying that they are cuddling. They walk into line which is pretty long.

"I feel like I'd be able to touch the stars on it." Lance says, still looking up to the top of the Ferris wheel while gripping Keith's arm a little tighter. He won't admit he's scared but...that's pretty far off the ground. He grips Chomp tighter too then looks to the stuffed shark with a smile. "Tonight has been great. Even if the chips didn't look like butterflies."

Keith chuckles. "They must of had a weird imagination when they named it." They slowly inch forward but it's still quite a wait. "Are you scared?" He nuzzles his nose against Lance's cheek.

Lance swallows a bit and pouts. He didn't want to lie but he feels a bit silly saying yes. "I've just...never been off the ground before...and that's...really tall." His voice is quiet so he cuddles in closer to Keith. "But I want to go on it with you."

"It'll be okay. It's built not to let anyone fall and I'm always here for you to cling into," he says softly. "I won't let anything happen."

Lance nuzzles him and smiles. "Ok. I trust you karmele." Once it's their turn, they climb onto the cart and Lance instantly clings to Keith. He hadn't realized they would move too. Sitting down quickly, Lance buries his face into Keith's neck and quietly whines.

Keith hums comfortingly as he rubs Lance's back. "It's okay Nixie," he cooes. "It's way slower than the car."

Lance feels the ride start to move and flinches but nuzzles Keith and kisses his neck, hoping to distract himself a bit. "But a car is on the ground." He hasn't tried to look out yet, feeling oddly worried, despite Keith telling him not to worry. "You promise we will be ok?"

"I promise," he whispers,"Everything will be okay." He buries his face into Lance's hair.

Lance takes a deep breath and nods before finally looking away from Keith. He gasps and looks outside the cart to see that they are nearly to the top of the ferris wheel. Gripping Keith tighter, he looks down to see everything and his breath catches. Something between fear and amazement shows on his face. "It looks so different."

Keith chuckles. "It's like you're on top of the world."

Lance nods and points. "You can see the other ride from here and all the lights look so small." He turns back to Keith before peeking at the sky. "The sky looks like your eyes tonight." He hums before touching his forehead to Keith's.

Keith blushes. "No it doesn't," he mumbles softly, not believing that the sky was actually purple. All he can see is Lance's deep blue eyes.

Lance grins. "But it does." He leans in and kisses Keith before nuzzling him to look to the sky for himself. "I told you. Your eyes are my favorite sky."

Keith looks up at the sky to see that yes, it is his eye color. It's really pretty but that isn't what he wants to be gazing at. He hums and nuzzles Lance. "You're so much prettier though."

Lance's eyes go wide and he blushes a bit. "That-that's not true." He mutters bashfully as he nuzzles back. Pulling one hand up to the side of Keith's face, Lance sighs before chucking a bit. "In all my time, you have been the first to make me bashful. I wonder if it's part of human nature?" He runs his thumb in circles over Keith's cheekbone.

"That is a possibility," he whispers as he leans into Lance's hand. "You are my favorite sight."

Lance feels his face grow hotter but he smiles. "And you are mine." He responds before leaning in to kiss Keith again, heart fluttering from a combination of the heights, his bashfulness and love. His hand moves under Keith's hair as he hums into the kiss.

Keith hums back and wraps an arm around Lance to deepen the kiss. His heart flutters, feeling as if they are the only two in the universe.

Lance scoots closer, not even realizing when Chomp falls to the bottom of the cart. He lightly grabs at Keith's hair and licks Keith's lips, feeling his fear disappear as the kiss deepens.

Keith opens his mouth to let Lance slip his tongue in. Once he feels it brush against his own tongue, he starts lightly sucking on it. Lance lets out a small whimper as he pushes himself closer to Keith, wrapping his tongue around Keith's and running it along the roof of his mouth. Keith moans and hugs Lance tightly. Nothing else mattered right now.

Lance shivers when Keith moans and finds he has idle hands. The one not buried in his hair trails along his chest before slipping up the fabric and starting to play with his nipple. Keith moans into the kiss again and arcs his back a little. He pulls away just long enough to moan Lance's name.

Lance hardly gives him a chance to speak his name as he eagerly pushes back into the kiss as his fingers pinch at his nipple, feeling himself growing hard already. Keith moans more and moved to sit on Lance's lap. He can feel Lance's hardness against his.

Lance pulls Keith close, pushing their bulges together and gasps at the feeling before tightening his grip on Keith's hips. Keith moans louder and grinds his hips against Lance's the best he can while being held.

Lance whines a little and returns the grinding motion, but only slightly, as the cart sways a bit when he moves and it causes his nerves to jolt. "Keith...you're so hot." Lance compliments breathlessly as he pulls away to kiss and bite down Keith's neck. Keith moans in response as he tilts his head to give Lance more access.

Lance feels the wheel stop but doesn't actually care this time. He just bites down Keith's neck, harder the lower he gets before dragging Keith's hips back and forth against him and letting out a small moan.

Keith noticed that the ferris wheel stops but doesn't fully register it. He moaned Lance's name again and tried to grind harder.

Lance gasps and moves his hands from Keith's hips, sliding them up his back before pushing him into a kiss and dragging his nails down Keith's back. He thrusts up at the sounds Keith makes, completely lost to the fact that they are so far off the ground still.

Keith moans loudly as his whole body shivers and tingles. "Keith. Your moans..." Lance starts as he makes their bodies grind together with a small moan. "They are like an aphrodisiac. I swear." He bites Keith's neck hard then digs his fingers into Keith's lower back and hips.

Keith hugs Lance tighter as he tries to bury his face in Lance's hair to muffle his moans. He wants Lance so badly.

Lance finally finds himself unable to hold back. He slides his hand down Keith's pants and grabs Keith, slowly dragging his hand up and down his length. With his other hand, he beggingly pulls Keith's hand toward his bulge and whines.

Keith moans shakily as Lance starts to pump him. Doing as Lance wants, he slips his hand under Lance's clothes and starts doing the same for Lance.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

"So have you seen the boys?" Matt asks while in line for the Ferris wheel. "I'm fairly certain I haven't seen them since they got out of the car."

"I haven't but I'm sure they're fine. Keith knows his way around but what about Pidge? Should we have really left them alone?"

"Pidge couldn't get lost if we tried to lose them." Matt laughs. "And if they want to leave, I'm sure they will find us and drag us back to the car. Plus, you heard Pidge, "I don't wanna be around you two flirts anymore, I'm gonna go play cheap games," right?"

Shiro laughs. "I'm just worried cause they'll be alone."

"True. They could cause trouble." Matt teases, knowing full well what Shiro meant. "They'll be fine." He scoots in close and sighs. "When was the last time we went on a Ferris wheel man?"

"Probably at least 5 years ago," Shiro answers. It got harder to just go out for fun after college.

"Five years. Damn we're old." Matt teases then watches as the wheel comes to a stop so they can get on. He pulls Shiro's hand, leading him away before cuddling close.

Shiro smiles. "Do you think we'll actually get stuck again?"

"We have pretty good, er bad?, luck with it to date. What...three of the four times we've gone on one it broke down mid ride? No.." Matt thinks about it as he takes his seat. "Three times it broke down and once the power got kicked at the whole festival. remember that one?" He laughs out loud for a second before scooting close. "That was a good time. So dark no one could see _anything_." His smirk grows.

Shiro smiles as Matt remembers all of their dates but blushes at the last one. "I swear, only you has the goal to do it here," he mumbles.

"You seemed pretty okay with the idea." Matt grins then elbows Shiro. "I'll wait until the ferris wheel stops this time at least." He leans in and whispers, "unless you had a _reason_ you wanted to come here."

Shiro visibly shivers as his cheeks grow hot. Matt knows that whispers like that are his weakness. They haven't even kissed yet and he's already yearning to be touched.

Matt laughs a little, quietly so he can stay close to Shiro's ear, "maybe I was right?" He whispers, lowering his voice so it's a bit more sensual. His face holds a crooked smirk, knowing full well what he's doing.

Shiro shivers more but doesn't move away. His eyes are half lidded as he nods ever so slightly. Matt grins and kisses Shiro's neck, still speaking in a whisper. "Maybe you should show me what I need to do." He teases by running his fingertips up Shiro's leg slowly.

"Matt," Shiro whines. He can feel himself start to harden already.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Lance gasps and bites down hard onto Keith to keep himself from moaning too loud then starts to pump Keith harder. Try as he might, he can't keep himself totally quiet as he releases quite, whining moans.

"Lance~ Lance," Keith moans," More." He grinds their hips together despite both of their hands being in the way.

"Do you want me too..." Lance moans a bit and gasps for air. "Take you here?" He asks as he pumps more.

"Ahhh~ Yes~ Please," he moans. His eyes begging for Lance.

Lance nods , licking his lips before putting his fingers into Keith's mouth. "I don't want to hurt you, so help." He begs as he tries to slip Keith's pants off, totally unaware that the Ferris wheel has only moved one spot more. After an awkward bit of push and pull, Lance looks Keith over and shivers before releasing a quiet moan, feeling himself becoming even harder.

Keith hungrily licks and sucks on Lance's fingers. He can already feel his asshole twitching.

Once his fingers are wet, Lance wastes no time in starting to thrust them into Keith. His eyes watch as he writhes in pleasure. "Tell me when you want more." He groans. Keith lets out a loud moan, his eyes rolling back slightly. It feels so good. Once Lance stretches him out enough, he moans for more.

Lance pulls himself out of his pants and uses his other hand to wet his cock before he lifts Keith up and carefully leads his cock into Keith. The feeling takes Lance's breath away and he has to grip Keith hard. "Gguuuh- Keeeith." He moans quietly.

Keith wasn't fully prepared for how big Lance really was. It didn't hurt but he was definitely being stretched. "L-Lance. So big," he groans.

Lance is snapped out of his trance by Keith moaning his name. His eyes struggle to focus, but he is careful not to thrust to hard into Keith yet. "You ok?" He moans as he moves Keith down onto him a bit more.

Keith groans, mostly in pleasure. "Y-yeah. Go slow." He buries his face in Lance's hair again.

Lance nods and slowly starts to thrust. He watches Keith's face to make sure he doesn't move too much. With each thrust, he goes a bit deeper until he's all the way in. Somewhere along the way, they seem to have become blissfully unaware that the ride isn't moving.

"Lance," Keith moans once he feels used to Lance's size," Faster."

Lance gasps and moans but listens to Keith. He thrusts into him and can't hold back his own moans when he does so he buries his face into Keith's neck and grabs his hips, loose enough that Keith can move, to try to steady himself.

Keith moves his hips to match Lance's, making him hit even deeper. Lance starts to pant, the tightness of Keith feeling far too good for him to think clearly. He starts to thrust and slam into Keith as deep as he can, starting to whine as he does. "Keith - keith - I - ngh."

"Lance~ So big," he moans," Close- ahhh~" He is so close to the edge.

Lance feels his face burning with a nearing orgasm and hearing Keith only makes it worse. "Keith...I'm cumming." He moans and thrusts in, not sure what else to do besides finish inside Keith.

Keith cums with a loud moan. He tightens around Lance while his nails dig into Lance's back.

Lance grips hard when he feels Keith cum, he tightens around him and Lance swears he could almost come again from that alone. "Keith. You're so hot. I love you." He pants the words quickly.

Keith pants and slumps against Lance. "Love you too Nixie," he whispers.

Lance holds Keith up and takes himself out of Keith with a whine then nuzzles against Keith and kisses up and down his neck. Trying to slow his breathing, Lance suddenly realizes, they're still high up. "Are we supposed to still be here?"

It takes a moment for Keith to process Lance's question. He looks outside and noticed that they are stuck. "Usually, no." He wonders if Matt and Shiro got on. This thing only ever breaks with them on it.

Lance laughs a bit. "Maybe it's best it did." He looks the two of them over then kisses Keith again. "at least I still get to be close to the sky."

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

"What is it dear?" He teases again before walking his fingers up Shiro's waist and chest. Matt smirks when he meets Shiro's gaze. "Did you need something?"

Shiro is looking at Matt with pleading eyes. He lets out a soft whine but doesn't say anything.

Matt just smirks back at him with an eyebrow raised. He loves this game. Making Shiro beg or snap and take him is one of his favorite pastimes. Poking Shiro's almost pouting lips, Matt chuckles. "I would swear you want something but...I could be taking this wrong..."

Shiro whines again," Matt. Please."

Matt raises an eyebrow. "Please...?" He looks around. "I don't have anything to give you I'm afraid." His smirk grows almost devilish.

Shiro's blush darkens and his eyes show how submissive he is right now. "Touch me... please," he begs softly.

Matt's smile grows more and he tries - so hard - not to laugh a bit. He puts a hand on Shiro's leg and smiles. "There you go love."

Shiro whines as he leans on Matt more, angling his back to the window. "Nooo. Please, touch me. Touch my cock," he begs.

"Ohhh." Matt says with a smile, moving his hand from Shiro's knee to his crotch and rubbing a bit. "Already that worked up? Matt whispers, voice a bit gravelly as he can't deny seeing Shiro like this always drives him mad.

Shiro curls around Matt as he moans. "Yes. Please," he moaned, bucking his hips.

Matt shivers. "What is it with you and Ferris Wheels?" He teases before undoing Shiro's top button and carefully unzipping his pants. Leaning in to kiss Shiro, Matt slips his hand down his pants and teasingly rubs up and down, running his fingertips over his tip with a smirk.

Shiro moans into the kiss and keeps bucking his hips, wanting more friction. "Careful, don't want to move too much, right?" Matt teases as he slowly starts to pump Shiro, trailing his other hand to his chest and drawing careful circles around his nipples. "You're always worried someone will catch us after all." He says before he starts pumping fast.

Shiro stops moving his hips, which makes his whole body shiver. "Matt," he moans.

Matt turns Shiro so his back is against Matt's chest. He kisses the back of Shiro's neck then starts to pump faster, being at a better position to do so now. "Hmm?" Matt nearly sings. Shiro melting in his arms has to be the best feeling in the world.

Shiro is left a moaning mess as he leans his head back on Matt's shoulder. Matt breathes deep, keeping himself as under control as he is able while pumping Shiro as perfectly as he's learned how. With Shiro laid back the way he is, Matt shoves his hand up his shirt and starts to play with the hard nipples there. "Doing good?" He teases.

"Good~" Shiro moans as he arcs his back,"So good~" He wants to thrust his hips but it'll rock the pod they are in so instead his moans get louder.

Matt smiles and turns Shiro's face toward him so he can kiss him and muffle the moans. He pulls away and smirks. "I'm the luckiest guy in the universe." His voice is gravelly so he takes another breath, trying to calm himself down.

"Matt," Shiro moans," Faster. More~"

"God Shiro you're going to kill me." Matt bites his lip and pumps him hard then licks Shiro's neck. "Do you want my other hand...to really work you?" Matt raises an eyebrow and groans into Shiro's ear.

"Yes! Please~!" He moans. His entire body feels like it's on fire.

Matt sucks on his fingers for a second then slides his other hand down Shiro's pants and starts to finger him as his other hand keeps pumping. After as long as they've been together, Matt knows just how to hit the best spots on Shiro so he doesn't hesitate to do so. "Are you close? Should I let you finish?"

"Yes!" Shiro yells in pleasure," Please let me cum! Ahhh~!" His hips are shaking and his dick is leaking so much.

"Shhhhh." Matt laughs but doesn't stop either of his hands. "I suppose I can let you cum." He leans in and kisses Shiro deep then pushes his fingers against Shiro's prostate and pumps a little harder. "Cum for me baby." he whispers.

Shiro's whole body shivers. "Matthew~! Aaahhh~!" He cums hard. Once he is drained, he falls limp and whines.

Matt bites his lip when Shiro shows his name. Thankfully, he'd known better and brought along some napkins after getting the elephant ear earlier and is cleaning his hand up while he gives Shiro time to breathe. "You know...I'm a bit jealous. You totally owe me later." He teases by whispering in Shiro's ear again before laughing.

Shiro shivers. "Blowjob?" He asks quietly between pants.

"You know I'll never turn down that." Matt laughs before tilting Shiro's head up so he can kiss him, dancing his tongue into Shiro's mouth for only a second. "Catch your breath though, babe. I don't need you passing out." He teases with a smile.

Shiro moans during the quick kiss. "I'm not going to pass out," he pouts. His panting is already getting lighter.

"I'm just giving you a hard time and you know it." Matt teases with a smirk before looking out the cart window. "I'm telling you we're blessed - er cursed? - with ferris wheels. I feel bad for anyone else who gets on one of these when we do." He runs his hand through Shiro's hair and sighs.

Shiro chuckles with his eyes closed and cuddles closer to Matt. "How long do you think this one will take?"

"Who knows?" Matt smiles and leans in to whisper again. "We have plenty of ways to pass the time." He kisses Shiro's cheek then sits back with a sigh.

Shiro blushes again. "Do you want to do one now?" He is still sensitive but willing to do more so long as the ferris wheel remains stuck.

Matt shrugs and kisses Shiro's cheek. "That's up to you." He grins at him but scratches the back of his head. "I just know me and trying to stay quiet..." His words trail off. "I almost bit through my lip last time, remember?" He almost laughs.

"I told you to bite your clothes." He remembers Matt's very purple lips. "We can just wait till we go home if you don't want to soak your sleeves."

"Well by the time you told me that I already had my lip." Matt chuckles. "So it was too late." He leans in and kisses Shiro deep, he loves slipping is tongue in for just a second before pulling it back and clamping his teeth down, not giving Shiro the time to get his tongue in. When he pulls away, Matt smirks. "I already said it was up to you."

Shiro whines softly. He hates it when Matt denies him access. He doesn't say anything but pouts. "What?" Matt shrugs. "You can do whatever you want. So why are you pouting at me." He teases him by running a finger along Shiro's pouting lip.

"You always kiss too quickly and don't let me slip my tongue in," Shiro complains, pouting more.

"Oh? Then maybe you shouldn't give me a chance to pull away." Matt snickers then gives Shiro a playful eskimo kiss.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Keith smiles and gives Lance an eskimo kiss. His cheeks are still red. "Should we start cleaning?"

Lance nods but pouts. "Probably." He isn't really sure how to clean up. Looking around he shrugs. "Should we use my shirt?" It's not like he liked it anyway, even though it was softer than most.

"Will you be okay without it?" Keith asks worryingly. "I could..." He looks away as his blush darkens. "Lick you clean."

"I'll be fine without it." Lance nods then blushes a bit when Keith offers to clean him. "I'd like that...but...you'd still need - need to be cleaned too...right?" He bites his lip and can't meet Keith's eyes without blushing more.

"L-lick each other?" Keith suggests, not wanting Lance ro end up cold later.

"Are- are you sure?" Lance looks at Keith, face blushing but obviously liking the idea. "I mean...I'd like it."

"Do..." He looks down at their position. "Do you want to go first?" He isn't sure if Lance was willing to lick his asshole or not. They could always just to go the bathroom to wash that up.

Lance smiles and nods. He leans in and kisses Keith first then helps him take a seat. Looking Keith over, Lance licks him clean from his stomach down. He thought that made the most sense anyway. When he gets to Keith's dick, the decides it'd be quicker to suck the whole thing clean.

Keith arcs his back and moans. He is still sensitive from cumming. Once Lance releases him, he pants for a little bit.

Lance grins, he liked Keith being so sensitive. But, he said he was cleaning him so he licks the inside of his thighs then lays Keith back so he can get to his hole a bit better before starting to lick that clean too.

Keith moans louder as Lance cleans his asshole. It felt so good but he knows he shouldn't cum again. God, he was probably already hard again.

Lance raises an eyebrow when he hears Keith so he doesn't stop when Keith is clean. He loves the sounds Keith makes so he licks hard, waiting to see if Keith will be okay with it.

"Aaahhh~! Lance~!" Keith moans. He tried to look back at Lance. "I- I'm going to get hard again." He was already hard.

Lance grins more before licking his way up to Keith's erection. "Going to?" He says playfully then takes Keith into his mouth and starting to suck him off earnestly.

"Nooo Lance~" He moans,"I- I'm going to cum again. Ahhh~" It was already starting to build.

Lance doesn't stop. Instead, he takes more of Keith and sucks a bit more. Listening to Keith is crazy dizzying. Fuck he's hot.

"Aaahh~ Lance~!" He bucks his hips slightly. "Close! Lance~!"

Lance looks up to Keith's face and hums then pushes his face down as deep as he can, waiting to taste him again. He trails his hand up to Keith's hair and buries his fingers there.

"Lance~! Cumming!" Keith's whole body shivers as he cums, is hips thrusting as the muscles spasm.

Lance nods as best he can while giving Keith head then swallows. He licks up the last drops from Keith then grabs Keith 's clothes and helps him get dressed before leaning in and giving him a kiss. "That was hot as hell."

"So embarrassing," Keith whines," I'm so sensitive." He gets Lance's clothes and returns the favor.

"Why embarrassing?" Lance's head tilts to the side. "I like it. It's fun." He says with a devious grin before leaning in and kissing him.

Keith moans into the kiss. His flutters when he remembers Lance's devious grin. Is Lance planning something?

Lance pulls back and watches Keith with a smile. "I love you." He laughs the word a bit, too happy to come down from his high.

"I love you too silly." He cuddles into Lance.

Lance hugs Keith close but can't hide that he's still worked up with Keith is close. He isn't asking for anything though, just got a little hard watching Keith.

Keith notices and slightly feels bad. "Do you want help with that?" He asks softly, referring to the bulge that isn't too obvious.

Lance smiles and looks down. Despite blushing a bit he shakes his head. "I'm fine for now." He kisses Keith again before nuzzling against him and humming. Cuddling into Keith, he hums some more, actually making a slight melody as he does this time. Keith smiles and relaxes, listening to Lance's humming.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Shiro grumbles. He places a hand on Matt's hip and pushes his thumb into the soft spot.

Matt gasps, not having actually expected Shiro to do anything. His eyes go wide and he goes quiet for a second. "Not fair." He whispers.

"You're no fair," Shiro shoots back as the hand travels down to cup and very slightly rub Matt's bulge. Matt's jaw drops and he gasps before grabbing the edge of his hoodie and clamping down hard on it. He'd been pretending he wasn't go crazy from lust but with that slight touch, Shiro can surely tell how hard he is.

Shiro smirks and rubs harder. "It might be awhile before we start moving again." Matt bites down hard and a muffled groan escapes lips. He opens his eyes only barely and gives Shiro a pleading look. Not daring to move the hoodie from his mouth, Matt does his best to portray what he's thinking. It's hard to deny how much he wants Shiro though as his hips chase Shiro's hand with every subtle movement.

Shiro slowly undoes and lowers Matt's panta low enough for his hardness to spring free. He leans in close but doesn't lick it yet. His hand lightly pumps while he watches Matt's reaction.

Matt closes his eyes, but not before his eyes roll back and a muffled moan escapes through his clenched jaw. When Shiro starts pumping him, Matt visibly starts to melt. He starts grasping for something to claw at but finds nothing beside the bar of the cart, so he grabs it and holds it in a death grip.

Shiro smirks before looking down and finally taking the hard member into his mouth. At first he only focuses on the tip before slowly taking more and more into his mouth. Matt slams his head back against the cart - which, yes, makes a significant amount of noise - but it keeps him from screaming like he wants to. Fuck Shiro gives the best head.

Shiro starts of slow but slowly pick his the pace as he starts to deep throat Matt. He hums softly, knowing that it will only drive Matt more insane.

Matt is struggling to stay still _and quiet_ there's no denying that. His hoodie is taking the most of his muffled shouts and moans and his jaw is so tense you can see it. With his other hand, Matt reaches down to take Shiro's hair but then he starts to hum so Matt takes his hand back and covers his mouth as he screams into it. He opens his eyes to look at Shiro and his lightheadedness can be seen. Tapping Shiro before grabbing his hand has become a signal of sorts. He's close.

Shiro holds Matt's hand tight. He's prepared. He continues to suck Matt off, taking all of Matt into his mouth while still humming. Matt bites hard on his hoodie and grips hard as he finally cums. He finally releases the hoodie and gasps for air but doesn't let go of Shiro or the bar of the ferris wheel cart as he gasps and pants. Shiro swallows Matt's cum before slowly releasing his dick. He doesn't say anything as he waits for Matt to regain his breath.

Matt lazily lifts his head and looks at Shiro for a minute with still hooded eyes. "You'd think after years of that I'd get better at being quiet or something." He tries to go back to his teasing self, but something about the breathless gasps makes it less teasing and more desperate.

"I think it's better if you never did," Shiro smirks," It's the only time I can really get you like that." He sits up and pulls Matt's clothes back up and buttons it.

Matt laughs a bit, still somewhat out of it. "My head seriously hurts by the way." He chuckles as he rubs the spot on the back of his head and grimaces. "Plus side, I am fairly certain I'll never get used to it." Once he's buttoned up, Matt leans in and kisses Shiro.

Shiro hums into the kiss. "Do you think the ferris wheel will start working now?" he asks once they pull away.

"If it sticks to routine then -" Matt doesn't even get to finish his sentence before the ferris wheel starts to move, garnishing quite the rambunctious bout of laughter from him. "I swear I don't control this." He says with a laugh before grabbing Shiro's hand and curling his running his fingers over the skin there.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Lance just hums more before remembering Chomp and swiping him up and dusting him off. Once he has Chomp, Lance goes back to humming and cuddles into Keith and uses Chomp as a pillow for them.

Keith hums softly, trying to match Lance. He wonders when they'll get down, not that he minded staying here with Lance.

Lance grins when Keith starts to hum and finds himself actually growing a bit tired. He nuzzles into Keith's hair and accidentally yawns. Keith yawns too. "Do you want to go home after this?" he asks softly.

Lance nods sleepily and wraps his arms around Keith. "I want to cuddle in the nest -er, bed - with you and sleep. I'm tired." He admits quietly.

"Once we get down, we'll find Matt and Shiro and see if they are willing to go home." Keith nuzzles Lance. "Don't fall asleep just yet."

"I'm trying." Lance cuddles into Keith anyway. A few seconds later the wheel slowly starts to move and a few people cheer. He looks out the window to watch the sky get further away as the ground slowly gets closer. "Hopefully not long now."

Keith smiles and yawns again. "Once we get off, we should find a bench and wait for Matt and Shiro to get off."

"Agreed." Lance watches as the people a few carts ahead of them get off and it starts to move again. He stretches a bit and yawns again. "This was fun though." Blushing, Lance adds. "All of it."

Keith smiles and nuzzles Lance. Once it's their turn to get out, Keith gets out first then help Lance. They holds hands as they find a nearby bench to wait at.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Shiro chuckles. He doesn't understand how or why the universe decides to let them always have just enough time to mess around on this darn thing. "It's a good thing we can't come here every year, otherwise they just shut the entire thing down."

Matt laughs and nods. "You're probably right. I'm honestly surprised they haven't realized we're the ones who manage to break the damn thing." He kisses Shiro again, trying to calm his laughter in doing so. "Shame we can't come here every year too." He raises an eyebrow playfully.

Shiro blushes and lightly pushes Matt away. "We can just do all the same thing in our house or at a hotel!"

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Matt teases. "You and I both know there's something more exciting about being stuck on a ferris wheel and trying to be quiet so we don't gather a crowd." He raises an eyebrow and smirks.

Shiro blushes more. "But it would be nice to relax and be as loud as we want sometimes."

"I'll be as loud as you want tonight." Matt whispers as the cart finally reaches their turn to step off. He kisses Shiro's cheek and laughs as he hops out.

Shiro's face is still red as he climbs out. He has to reassure the workers that he's fine. Shiro grabs Matt's hand as they walk away. "Should I text Keith? To make sure they are alright?"

Matt is basically dying when the worker makes sure Shiro is ok. His laughter actually makes a few people turn to him curiously. "Actually, I think I see them. But i'll text Pidge." He says through his laughter while pointing to the boys on the bench.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

Lance follows Keith and - once they find a nearby bench, he collapses beside him and yawns again. Keith gently positions them so that Lance is laying in his shoulder.

Lance cuddles and hums then puts Chomp against Keith's neck, making the stuffed animal nuzzle him too. Keith chuckles and pets Chomp's head. Chomp makes a strange squeaky sound - with the assistance of Lance of course - before cuddling back between them as Lance is getting more sleepy.

Keith smiles down at Lance, finding him so adorable. "Keith!" Shiro calls, causing the younger couple to look up and see Shiro and Matt walking their way. "Tired already?"

"Yeah, are we going soon?" Keith asked more for Lance than himself.

Shiro looks to Matt, seeing him still on his phone he answers," Probably."

Lance jumps a bit when he hears Shiro but smiles at him and waves Chomp's fin. "I should have napped in the car. I'm sorry." Lance apologizes.

Shiro smiles and waves at the stuff animal. "It's alright, you were just too excited."

Pidge pops up behind their brother and taps him on the shoulder. "Jesus Pidge how do you do that?!" Matt jumps when Pidge shows up seemingly out of nowhere. "Did you want to leave? Apparently Lance is tired."

"I don't mind. I expected as much when everyone started gathering again." Pidge adjusted their glasses. "You guys weren't all in one cart, where you?"

Lance nods and yawns again before cuddling tighter to Keith and nuzzling him. "It was fun though." Keith nuzzles his nose into Lance's hair with a smile. He yawns quietly.

"What? No?" Matt shakes his head. "Why would you think that?" He hooks his atm around Shiro's. "Was it something Shiro said?"

"No but you four were on the ferris wheel at the same time. I couldn't tell who got on first," Pidge said, looking at their phone.

Lance peeks up at Keith and gives him a quick kiss before hearing what Pidge said and giggling a bit. "You were right." Lance whispers to Keith.

"I was right about what?" Keith asked before it clicked. "Oh..."

Matt shrugs and shakes his head. "Do you have trackers on us or what?" He teases...sorta...then looks over to the two tired boys then back to Shiro. "I wonder if our ferris wheel habits rubbed off?" He whispers playfully.

Pidge didn't answer but used Shiro as a distraction to get away with not answering. "I blame you," Shiro grumbled. "The ferris wheel was completely fine the one time I went with Keith."

Lance finally stands up and stretches, hoping it would help him wake up. "Time to go home?"

Matt smirks deviously. "But it's always _waaay_ more fun with me." He says quietly before leaning in and kissing Shiro's neck with a laugh. Seeing Lance working on getting ready to go, Matt starts to head back to the car.

Keith gets up and grabs Lance's hand. "Looks like it." They are behind Shiro so they don't notice the blush that spreads all across his face.

Lance cuddles Keith all the way to the car. He climbs in the seat and is nearly asleep the instant he's sitting. "I love you Keith." He mumbles before cuddling into him again.

"Awww someone's a strawberry." Matt laughs at Shiro's blush as he gets in the car then turns to Keith. "Did sleepy fishboy have fun?"

"I'm not a fishboy." Lance grumbles despite being nearly asleep.

Keith nuzzles Lance before answering Matt," Yeah. He had a lot of fun." Shiro starts the car and waits a minute before going. Keith yawned and leaned his head on Lance's.

"What about you Pidge?" Shiro asked.

"People watching always proves to be pretty amusing." Pidge waves their hand and turns their attention to their phone.

Matt gives shiro a smirk before turning back to Keith. "Hopefully you didn't get too bored on the broken down ferris wheel." His words would be harmless if he didn't have a suspicion that they did something.

Keith is half awake but he still blushes. He hopes that it doesn't show or that Matt can't see it due to how dark it is outside. "How long was it broken?" The sleepiness was evident in his voice.

"You know...I wasn't watching the time." Matt smirks toward Shiro then looks back to the sleepy boys. "I'll wake you two up when we get home." He responds before turning vs k toward the front.

Keith hums in response. He lets his eyes close and falls asleep. Pidge of course, takes pictures again. Shiro makes a mental note to ask Pidge for the photos later. "You know I can't see when you smirk at me," Shiro whispers to Matt.

"Yet you know I'm smirking." He responds quietly before trailing his fingers onto Shiro's leg with an airy laugh. "Funny how that works."

Shiro blushes and tries to defend himself, "I can hear it in your voice." His leg tingles where Matt's finger goes over.

"Then it's worth it to smirk Hm?" He smirks again when he says this and trails his fingers further up Shiro's leg and laughs quietly. Shiro blushes more and glares at the road in front of him. If Matt keeps going, he will not be able to make it home.

Matt keeps his hands at a safe distance away from the truly sensitive spots but doesn't stop teasing him. "I'm hungry." He complains as if he isn't driving Shiro mad.

"What do you want to eat?" Shiro asks, trying to stay as calm as possible.

Matt thinks loudly as he trailed his fingers over Shiro's hips. "Tacos?" He sighs. "Or I can just have ramen when we get home." Then trails this fingers gently over Shiro's happy trail before pulling them back to his thigh and grinning.

Shiro shivers. God, he hates Matt so much right now. He knows that Shiro won't make it to get tacos and back like this. "Ramen is easier," he comments softly.

"Yeaaah. I guess you're right." He smiles huge then trails his fingers to the inside of Shiro's thigh for just a second before pulling them back and laughing. "I'll have something hot and spicy." He smirks.

Shiro is on the verge of wanting to break the speed limit to get home faster. "A-about how many minutes until we get home?"

"Only a few I'm sure." Matt hums then teases his fingers closer to Shiro's inner thigh again. "I know driving in the dark makes everything take soooo much longer." He says devilishly.

Shiro groans softly and shivers more. "Matt," he whines.

"What? I can't make time move any faster." He looks out the window and sighs" fingers still trailing the inside of Shiro's thighs. "Hey we made it to our street at least." He acts as if he's literally doing nothing.

Shiro's breaths are short. He quickly makes it to their usual sparking spot and pushes Matt's hand away so he can wake up the sleeping couple. "Keith, Lance," he says softly," It's time to wake up."

Lance wakes up first and nuzzles Keith to help him wake up. Before anyone can say a word, Pidge seems to just vanish and Matt playfully follows behind them. The smile on his face is huge as he unlocks the door. He holds the door open, waiting for the others to follow behind. "Shiro I want hot and spicy make it for me!" He calls teasingly.

Keith groans and sleepily climbs out of the car with Lance. They stumble into the house with Shiro following behind. The sleepy two go to their room while Shiro walks with Matt to their room.

Lance almost collapses into the bed, too tired to even take off his shirt. He makes grabby hands at Keith and whines until they are intertwined again. Keith climbs onto bed and cuddles with Lance. "My nixie," he whispers as his eyes close again.

"My love." Lance cuddles close, resting his head on Keith's chest before falling asleep.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

"But I wanted something hot and spicy." Matt teases once in the room. "Can't make that here." He smirks while pulling off his hoodie.

Shiro blushes more. "W-we both know Pidge always gets a midnight snack."

"Good thing it's only 9." He says with an eyebrow raised as he takes off his socks and wiggles his toes around. "I mean, unless you know how to make something hot in here." He adds in a quiet purr.

Shiro can feel his dick twitch. "D-do... Do you really...?" God, even a slight push will break his thin will to resist.

"Do I really what?" Matt smirks then slinks over to him and whispers the next bit, "want something hot? Absolutely."

Shiro shivers. "T-the kitchen then?" he stutters softly.

Matt shrugs. "I dunno." He shrugs, still acting innocent despite the devilish smirk. "That would be up to you. But it is the easiest place to make something spicy." He bites his lip and mumbles the next bit. "Unless you just happened to make it so i couldn't get there."

Shiro huffs and grabs Matt hand. He drags Matt to the kitchen and pins his against the counter. He grins his hip against Matt's and whispers,"This is all your fault."

Matt gaps once his pinned and bites his lower lip before grabbing Shiro's hips. "I don't know what you're talking about." He whispers into Shiro's ear. "I'm just hungry." He pulls back and his eyebrow is raised. Shiro growls and hungerly kisses Matt. He continues to grind their hips together, causing him to moan into the kiss.

Matt eagerly kisses back and wraps his arms around Shiro's neck to help lift himself onto the edge of the counter. When Shiro moans, Matt shivers so hard he's sure Shiro can feel it. He pulls away for a second, trying hard to push Shiro to take him. "This is pretty hot...but I was hoping for more...my Thai food." He whispers in Shiro's ear, growing hard as Shiro grinds into him.

Shiro struggles to get them both pantless. He growls as he digs his nose into the crook of Matt's neck. Once both of their pants are pooled on the floor, Shiro grinds his dick against Matt's hole.

Matt wraps his legs around Shiro, starting to pant as Shiro grinds against him. "Fuck shiro. Take me." He opens his eyes and looks into Shiro's before leaning down and biting Shiro's lip before biting up Shiro's jawline and biting his earlobe before whispering,. "make it so I can't think anymore."

Shiro growls again before roughly thrusting in. He pauses and waits for Matt to relax. Matt gasps and groans. He digs his nails into Shiro's back and thrusts into him. "What are you waiting for? I can still talk." He says, panting from lust. Shiro grips tightly onto Matt's waist and start thrusting hard and fast. He groans in rhythm with his thrusts. Matt will get what he asked for and more.

Matt accidentally shouts a bit when Shiro starts thrusting. To stop, he leans over Shiro and bites his neck. Then finds himself needing to breath more. He releases Shiro's neck and moans loudly, he starts to pant and his eyes roll back. "F-f-fuuck." He groans the word then starts to thrust into Shiro before gasping and actually feeling his arms start to tremble from desire.

Shiro moves faster, moaning louder after Matt bites him. Ones hand goes up Matt's shirt and starts pinching and pulling Matt's nipple. "You can still talk?" he groans.

"Ah-ah" Matt moans loudly before biting down on his lip and moans into his clamped mouth. "Ba-barely." He grins at Shiro and pants loudly, pushing his chest hard into Shiro's hand. Licking his lips, Matt feels his head starting to sway on his neck.

Shiro thrusts harder and starts nibbling on Matt's neck. He plans to get Matt so overwhelmed with pleasure that he can't even moan.

Matt grits his teeth and gasps. His eyes go wide and he moans more loudly than hr meant to. He starts panting and almost whining when Shiro starts on his neck. If he tried, Matt couldn't form words anymore. One arm slides down from Shiro's neck to grip the edge of the counter.

Shiro smirks and starts to suck hard on Matt's neck. The hand still holding Matt's hip grips tighter. He can feel his climax building but he wants Matt to cum first so he holds it in.

Whether Shiro meant to or not, Matt isn't sure but he hits his melt spot and Matt is done. His breaths come out soundless and he can't open his eyes. The only sign that he's about to come is a hitch in his breath followed by his muscles tightening and contracting. Seconds later, Matt grips tight to Shiro and barely moans his name as he cums.

Shiro doesn't stop when Matt cums. He is on the verge of cumming but he wants to keep going as long as possible. He knows Matt loves it when he is overstimulated.

Matt gasps for air when Shiro keeps going and his eyes roll back in pure ecstasy. Struggling a bit, Matt forces out a gravelly, "Shiro..." Hoping his voice might help to push Shiro over the brink with how euphoric it sounds. He's fairly certain he could melt with how good he feels right now.

Shiro groans. He really wants to cum but he also really wants to keep going and hearing Matt moaning his name didn't help. "That's not my name," he groans shakily.

Matt tries to focus. His mind is so far gone he can't remember what he is suppose to say. is he supposed to say something? thinking is too hard so he just pants shakily and tries to pull himself into Shiro. His eyes won't focus on Shiro but he tries to speak but only sounds come out. "Ah-ah-ngh." He finally gives up trying to say...whatever he was aiming for.

Shiro slows down his pace. "Matthew, say my name," he whispers, teasing him with fast thrusts in but slow pulls out.

Matt blinks his eyes hard, trying to focus enough to even hear Shiro. He feels him slow down so he takes a deep breath. "Ta- ngh," he gasps when Shiro thrusts fast into him. "Grabbing onto Shiro's neck for support, Matt takes a few deep breaths against Shiro's ear. "Taka-shi." He barely forces the name out before he moans again, already close to a second orgasm.

Shiver shivers. Hearing Matt say his actual name is such a turn on. "Matthew," he moans as he starts to thrust faster again. He kisses the mark he left on Matt's neck and starts sucking on a new spot.

Matt gasps for air, gripping hard onto Shiro. He opens his eyes, watching him and only getting turned on more by seeing how worked up Shiro is. "Takashi you're..so goddamn...sexy." Matt moans quietly, voice still not fully back yet, especially when he starts at his neck again.

Shiro groans and pulls away from Matt's neck. "Cumming hnng~ Inside?"

Matt just nods, he can't move enough to try to pull away anyway. He hugs Shiro a bit tighter, knowing that feeling Shiro cum will push him over the edge again.

Shiro bites down onto Matt's neck to muffle his moan as he cums hard. God, he was so pent up despite having cum about an hour or two ago.

Matt slaps his hand over his mouth as he screams a little again. His whole body convulses with another strong orgasm. He breathes hard and swallows down a slew of moans that catch as he feels the remaining tingles of his orgasm leaving. If he was pushed any further, Matt is fairly certain he would black out. His eyes won't focus and his whole body is weak and shivering. "We-need - we" he starts but is too breathless to finish his thought.

Shiro pants heavily and slowly pulls out of Matt. He uses the counter to keep himself standing. "Hmn? Shower or bed?" he asks between pants.

"Bed." Matt says quietly. "I don't...I don't think I could stand that long." He says with a smirk then leans in and kisses Shiro deeply. "God I fucking love you."

Shiro hums into the kiss. "I love you so much too," he says as he gently picks up Matt and carries him back to the bed room, using his leg to drag their clothes along.

Matt clings to Shiro the whole way there and when he is put down on the bed, he literally collapses. "I'm broken. You broke me." He says, voice still shaky before laughing and adding, "I like it."

Shiro chuckles. He leaves their clothes as a pile on the floor next to the bed as he flops down next to Matt.

Matt wants to cuddle but literally cannot get himself to move closer. He laughs weakly. "Broken I tell you."

"Just how you like it," Shiro whispers as he wraps his arms around Matt.

"You know me so well." He laughs quietly then puts his hand on Shiro's. "I'm going to sleep so good. Thank you."

Shiro kisses Matt's forehead. "Good night sweetheart."

"Ngh." Is all Matt can say before he's too tired to speak.

Shiro yawns as he watches Matt sleep. He smiles lovingly before cuddling closer and letting himself fall asleep as well.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

"Zarkon, I thought you said the siren would be here," a fellow fisherman complained.

"He's been here every night. He's going to show." Zarkon growls. "He had a human hostage under his song. They come here every night." He looks around, hoping to see them coming soon. "Just wait."

A group of fisherman are hiding near the beach, waiting for the supposed siren in a human form. "I'll only wait another hour. It's hard to believe that a siren could gain a human form."

"Those kids borrowed by boat. They returned with but one of the barrels was missing. Maybe it's the siren disguising itself. I promise, it was that creature. I know its song." He growls, frustrated that they hadn't shown up when they typically did.

As the time goes by, more and more people leave until there is a handful left. "Shall we just wait again tomorrow? Something must have come up."

"Yes. I'm certain they will return." Zarkon grumbles. He looks out to the beach once more. "Even with less numbers we should be able to capture the creature and rid our waters of such a threat at last."


	17. Chapter 17

Keith cuddles closer to Lance as he starts to wake up.

Lance feels Keith move but isn't ready to open his eyes yet so he just cuddles into him and hums. "Morning."

"Morning," he mumbles sleepily as he forces his eyes open. Seeing Chomp still in Lance's arms, he pulls Bora to lay next to the stuff shark.

Lance feels Bora next to him so he finally opens his eyes to cuddle the stuffed shark next to him. "Chomp chomp." He says sleepily then cuddles close to Keith. Keith chuckles softly. He makes Bora cuddle back before closing his eyes. It's so tempting to go back to sleep.

Lance rolls over and kisses Keith somewhat suddenly. "What are we doing today?" He pouts. "Not working?"

"Not working," he mumbles sleepily.

Lance cuddles happily then kisses Keith more. "Yay!" He giggles then hops on top of him. "All to me?"

Keith opens his eyes and smiles at Lance. "All yours."

Lance wiggles happily and looks down at Keith with a huge smile. "Can we try to cook something? I want to cook for you!" He looks excited about the prospect before leaning down to kiss and lightly nibble Keith's neck. "I want to do something special for you." He says in a pouty tone as if he hasn't already.

Keith hums when Lance nibbles his neck. Slowly, he sits up and hugs Lance. "Do you have an idea already or do you want to look through a cookbook?"

"I want to cook..." He trails off. "We can look through a book." He says bashfully. "I don't really know most human food still."

Keith gives Lance an eskimo kiss. "There is a book or two in the living room."

Lance hops up and drags Keith out of bed. "Then let's go!" He says with a huge smile. "I'm gonna make you breakfast!" Yanking excitedly, he hopes to get Keith up and moving.

With a chuckle and followed Lance closely behind. Once in the living room, he digs out the main cookbook. They only have it cause Hunk had extras and that Keith is okay at cooking.

Lance grabs the book and starts looking through it. He doesn't bother attempting to read words. Instead he just thumbs through the pages until he finds strawberry waffles and points at it excitedly. "That one! You'll like that one right?"

Keith looks at the ingredients and steps. "Alright," Keith takes the book and leads Lance to the kitchen, where he puts the book on the counter.

Lance is super excited. He bounces around as he watches Keith put the book down. Having looked through the kitchen a few times, Lance grabs plates and a bowl - since he could see a bowl in the picture - and leans down to try to read. A few words in he grumbles angrily.

Keith reads outloud slowly for Lance. He then gets the ingredients while telling Lance which is which.

Lance glows as Keith reads to him, feeling oddly special. He grabs the ingredients and listens as Keith reads it. His smile grows as he starts to mix the ingredients together. "Like this right?" He mixes the batter quickly.

"Don't mix too fast," Keith says and places his hand on top of Lances. He shows Lance a better way to mix it.

Lance grins and cuddles into Keith as he shows him how to mix it better. Once it looks well mixed, he lifts the spoon toward Keith's mouth. "Taste time!"

Keith chuckles and takes the bite. "Taste good to me," he says after licking his lips. He slowly moves away from Lance to set up the pan.

Lance darts away for a minute then comes back with the mp3 player and plays music as loud as it will go through his headphones and awkwardly dances to it before bumping into Keith with a laugh.

Keith was a little surprised when Lance bumps him but he quickly smiles. He finishes buttering up the waffle pan. "Do you want to pour the batter?"

"Mmhmm!" Lance grabs the bowl and starts to fill it but overflows it as he assumed you had to cover the whole griddle.

"Wow!" Keith lifts the bowl to stop the pouring. "A little too much there." He grabs a paper towel and puts it around the waffle pan. He then closes it and watches as some of the batter drips down the side.

Lance puts the bowl down and tries to clean up as best he can as it spills out the sides. Somehow though he only manages to make a bigger mess. "I'm so sorry! Oh my gosh."

"It's okay. Leave it for now, we might spill more," Keith says as he pulls up the lid, revealing a somewhat okay waffle.

Lance seems happy when he sees the waffle but hands the bowl to Keith. "You do it this time." He kisses Keith's neck when he hands him the bowl and laughs.

Keith holds the bowl and waits for Lance to move the waffle onto a plate. Once empty, he pours a small amount. "Okay, now close it." Lance nods and closes it then grabs Keith and cuddles him then nuzzles into him. He's smiling brilliantly, obviously happy to be cooking for him - even if he isn't doing a great job.

Keith nuzzles back. It's been a while since he last cooked so this is fun. After a few more seconds, he tells Lance to open the pan. Lance does and sees that this one came out better so he's visibly excited as he carefully picks it off the griddle. "You are so good at this." He says with a brilliant smile before turning and grabbing a strawberry and eating it before grabbing one to give to Keith.

While Lance was getting the strawberry, Keith pours another waffle onto the pan. Carefully he holds the bowl with one hand while closing the pan with the other. Keith then turns to Lance and takes a bite. A little bit of the juice dripped down to his chin. Lance laughs and leans in to lick it up with a playful giggle. "Tastes even better that way." He says before hugging Keith and kissing his neck again.

Keith blushes and hugs Lance back. Not wanting to separate, he just turns off the waffle pan. He nuzzles into Lance's neck. Lance hums then kisses Keith's cheek before grabbing his face in both hands and kissing his nose then giggling. "Ready to eat?!" Despite saying this, Lance just cuddles into Keith's chest and hums.

Keith hugs Lance tighter. "We should add more strawberries first, and whip cream."

Lance tilts his head. "What's whip cream?" He kisses up Keith's neck then messes up his hair playfully. "But more strawberries are good. I like strawberries."

"Whip cream if fluffy and sweet. It goes on top of the waffles." He separates from Lance to grab the whip cream in the fridge. He shakes it while he gets the third waffle from the pan. He then takes off the cap and putting some on the waffles.

Lance likes watching the whip cream. It looks fun. Like… He wants to play with it. He takes the can from Keith and - at first - looks like he's going to put it on the waffle the just sprays it at Keith and laughs

"Wah!" Keith quickly covers his face with his arm. "This isn't silly string!" He yells but the smile is very evident on his face. While still looking away, he tries to grab the can from Lance.

Lance laughs. "I don't know what silly string is either!" He sprays him again then leans in and licks it off of Keith before laughing. "I like this." He laughs. Keith blushes but instead of freezing, he takes this chance to grab the can from Lance and spraying him down.

Lance laughs louder and shrieks a bit when the whip cream hits him. His laughter just grows louder though. Catching some of the whip cream in his hand, he smears it on Keith's nose and laughs harder.

Keith puts the can down on the counter before hugging Lance tight and playfully biting Lance's whip cream covered cheek.

Lance leans in and licks some of the whip cream off of Keith with a warm smile before looking back to the waffles. "Were doing awful at eating."

Keith chuckles," Yeah, we are." He licks Lance's cheek before letting go and looking them both over. "I think we should just eat in here." He grabs two forks and hands one to Lance.

Lance takes it and tries a bite. He swallows it then grins. "I like it." Then he turns to Keith and nibbles on his neck. "That's better though." He whispers playfully before taking another bite.

Keith takes a bite the same time Lance does. He is a little surprised how well it turned out. He swallows his bite to verbally agree but it cut off with the nibble. Keith blushes returns the favor.

Lance smiles and cuddles into Keith as he eats. Once they both have about half the food gone, Lance smirks then sneaks the whip cream and sprays it at Keith again with a loud laugh. "Gotcha again!"

Keith flinches away and swats in Lance's direction. "That's not fair!"

Lance pouts a little and puts the can down and leans in to lick up the whip cream. "I'll clean you up." He pouts playfully. "So it's not going to waste."

Keith blushes and licks Lance's other cheek. "Then I'll have to clean you up too."

"Don't want to waste it after all!" Lance says playfully before turning to lick and kiss up more of the whip cream off of Keith before trying to pin him in place. Keith face is completely red. When he feels Lance starting to push him against the counter, he fight back to stay in his spot.

Lance laughs and playfully fight back but manages to slip on some whip cream that made it to the ground. He tries to stay standing by grabbing onto Keith as he falls but instead only manages to pull them both down.

They fall with a thud, Lance on top of Keith. It takes Keith a second to register what just happened before laughing. Lance starts laughing when Keith does then pokes Keith's nose before nuzzling into his neck and kissing it. "That kinda hurt actually." He says despite giggling.

"My butt hurts," Keith giggled. He sits up and pulls Lance onto his lap. "Where does it hurt?" He asks while licking more of the whipcream off Lance.

Lance grins and blushes a bit then shakes his head. "It's not bad." He leans in and licks Keith's jawline, humming as he does. Leaning in to hug Keith once he's one his lap, Lance quietly starts to hum with the song playing through the mp3 player. "Every day is perfect with you in it." He says quietly as he rests his head against Keith's shoulder.

"Same to you," Keith whispers and nuzzles Lance. "I can handle anything, so long as you're by my side."

Lance laughs then kisses his neck more. "Guess its a good thing I don't plan on leaving." He responds quietly then playfully catches Keith's earlobe between his teeth and giggles.

Keith groans softly at the bite. To change the subject, he asks,"Wanna finish the waffles?"

Lance lets go of Keith's ear and looks back at him with a smile. "Only if you do!" He nuzzles his nose then hops up and offers him a hand.

Keith chuckles at Lance's hyperness. He takes the hand and stands up. Luckily, the waffles weren't soggy yet. Just before Keith took his last bite, he wiped up some whip cream with his fingers and put it on Lance's nose. He quickly leaned in and licked it off before taking a step back to eat the last bite of the waffles.

Lance tries to glare but it doesn't look very intimidating with whip cream on his nose, pink cheeks, and a huge smile. He scoots close to Keith and raises an eyebrow. He had finished his waffle a minute before so when Keith takes the last bite, Lance leans in and quickly kisses him, licking Keith's lips before he could possibly have finished the bite before pulling back and licking his own lips. "Tasty." He giggles.

Keith blushes and turns away to hide it. He quickly swallows the rest of the food and tries not to malfunction.

He couldn't turn fast enough, Lance sees the blush and laughs a bit more about it before pinning Keith against the counter. "You're so cute." He sings before nuzzling his neck and trailing a line of gentle nibbles down his neck.

Keith's blush only darkens as he shudders. He loosely wraps his arms around Lance as he melts.

Lance smiles when he feels Keith shudder. "Should we clean up our disaster?" Lance asks as he looks back to the kitchen then faces Keith again. "Oooorrr," he grabs the can of whip cream, "Make a bigger mess first?" He giggles then puts a dollop on Keith's nose and giggles even more.

Keith scrunches up his nose and playfully glares at Lance. He doesn't mind either way and he already knows which Lance wants to do. He starts to lightly tickle Lance's stomach.

"No! No tickles!" He shouts through his laughter before wiggling free from Keith. Lance laughs then sprays Keith, hoping to get away from the tickling fingers

Keith turns his face away to avoid getting any in his eyes but he follows Lance to continue tickling him.

"No!" Lance laughs more and drops the can, trying to push Keith's hands away as he curls over a bit from being tickled. In trying to get away, he doesn't realize he's backed into to corner of the counter until it's too late. "Keith! Stop!" He giddily begs through laughter.

Keith hums as if thinking about it. "Mmmm... Nope." He continues to tickle, moving a hand up to another spot.

Lance shakes his head and pushes Keith's hands away as best he can but his laughter only grows when Keith starts to tickle another spot. "Keith! Please!" He feels himself shaking with laughter and his face is red. "I'll do anything!" His voice is struggling to be uninterrupted by his laughter.

"Anything?" Keith ask with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

Lance nods but can't get words out through his laughter and gasps for air.

Keith stops tickling and hugs Lance close. "I hope you don't end up regretting those words," he teases.

Lance grasps onto Keith and takes a few deep breaths. "What could...you request that...that I would regret?" Lance looks up at Keith with a grin.

"That is true," Keith smiles. "I would never request anything that you would regret." He nuzzles into Lance's neck.

Lance hums then kisses up Keith's neck, still a bit breathless. "I know." He says before looking back to Keith. "For the first time in many years, I actually trust someone." He admits then kisses Keith, licking his lips before separating just enough to speak. "I'm glad it was you."

"I'm glad that it's me too," he mumbles. Keith kisses Lance again but before it gets any deeper, he pulls away.

Lance hummed and pushed himself into the kiss, whining a little when Keith pulls away. "Keith?" He asks with a pout.

Keith smirks. "hmn?"

Lance leans in, trying to kiss him again. "Why'd you pull away?" He whines

"I didn't pull away," he says, pretending not to know what Lance is talking about. "I didn't do anything."

Lance just pouts more as me moves in, trying to kiss Keith. "Yes you did!" He whines before grabbing Keith's hips to keep him in place. "Stop backing away." He whines. Keith chuckles and holds still for Lance, angling his head away to make kissing a bit more difficult.

"Keeeith." Lance pouts then wraps one hand around his waist before using the other to pull Keith's face back toward him and kissing him again.

Keith kisses back and gently claws at Lance's back. Lance gasps then pushes closer against Keith and moans a little at the feeling of his nails across his skin. "Tease." Lance whispers.

Keith chuckles softly. "I love you," he whispers.

Lance huffs but nuzzles him before kissing his neck. "I love you too." He responds quietly before cuddling into Keith with a smile.

"Is there anything you would like to go see today?" he asks softly as he combs his hand through Lance's hair.

Lance shakes his head. "Just you." He hums. "But we can do whatever you want." Perking up a bit, Lance looks to Keith. "And I want to go back to the beach at some point. I still miss it."

Keith smiles and nuzzles Lance. "Of course we'll go to the beach." That gives Keith an idea. "Do you miss seeing the fish and dolphins?"

Lance seems to light up. "I haven't seen dolphins in years!" He grins brilliantly. "Are there dolphins nearby?!"

"There is an aquarium nearby that keeps rescued animals and they have a few dolphins," Keith answers. He can tell by how excited Lance is that bringing the aquarium up was a good idea.

Lance's smile grows. "Can we go?!" He asks excitedly. "I'd love to see dolphins again!" Laughing a little, he closes his eyes, remembering them. "They're so playful." Hugging Keith tight, lance kisses his neck.

Keith wonders if Matt and Shiro would want to go. Pidge wouldn't be interested unless they wanted to study something. "Do you want to go using the car or by train?"

"What's a train?" Lance asks excitedly.

"It's a... Really long car that people can use all together," Keith tries to explain. "It would take longer than taking Shiro's car."

"I want to go however you do." Lance grins and kisses Keith's neck a bunch.

Keith chuckles and lightly tries to push Lance's head away. "Do you want the others to come along? Just like the festival?"

"I mainly care about you. But the others can come if you like." He laughs as Keith tries to push him away. To retort he just kisses Keith's hand and laughs.

Keith chuckles and continues to try and push Lance away, avoiding Lance's lips this time. "Should we go ask if they want to come or do you want to stay here a little longer?"

"I want to go see the dolphins!" He bounces excitedly before nuzzling Keith and laughing as he watches him try to get away. "But you can go ask." Lance smiles brilliantly before finally letting Keith get away.

Keith chuckles and grabs Lance's hand. "Let's go ask together." He places their dirty dishes in the sink before leading Lance to Shiro and Matt's room. Lance smiles and wraps his hand around Keith and happily follows. He waits impatiently beside Keith when he watches him knock.

From inside the room, Matt groans at the knock on the door. He buries his head, still oddly out of it from the kitchen fiasco. Shiro slowly gets up and goes to open the door. With tired eyes, he looks down at Keith and Lance. "Is something wrong?"

"No, we just wanted to ask you something," Keith answers and looks to Lance, thinking it would be best if it came from him.

Lance nods, realizing Keith wanted him to ask. "I wanna go see dolphins!" He almost shouts. "Do you want to come!" His smile is super brilliant and he has a hard time holding still.

The loudness surprises Shiro a little but he smiles. He looks back at Matt and asks," Matt, do you want to go to the aquarium?"

Matt mumbles almost incoherently then perks up as if jolted. "With a siren?" His eyes sparkle. "Could be pretty cool. You up for it?"

Shiro chuckles. "Yeah, are you feeling okay though?"

"I don't know I haven't moved yet." Matt admits then forces himself to sit up. He groans a bit then looks over to Shiro. "Ferris wheel's are awesome." He says with a quiet laugh while rubbing his clearly bruised neck.

Lance looks about ready to burst as he waits for an answer. Shiro rolls his eyes playfully before turning to Lance with a smile. "We'll go, just give us a bit to get ready."

Lance yanks on Keith's arm excitedly. "We get to go see dolphins!" He looks Keith over and giggles. "We might want to clean up too." He picks some dried whip cream out of Keith's hair.

Keith laughs, noticing some in Lance's hair as well. "Ask Pidge for me!" Keith yells as they start to walk away. Shiro waits another second before closing the door and walking back to Matt.

"Does it hurt?" Shiro asks, gently tracing around the bruise on Matt's neck.

"Will you call me crazy if I say it feels good?" Matt laughs then grabs Shiro and tries to pull him back into bed.

Shiro chuckles," You know I won't." When Matt tries to pull him down, he doesn't move. "We have to get ready."

"Ok then," Matt sits up and kisses Shiro on the cheek, "it actually feels good." He laughs then groans. "Yeah yeah I know."

Shiro hugs Matt close. "You should wear a turtleneck today." He buries his his nose into Matt's hair. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Lance nuzzles Keith all the way back to the room then kisses his neck a bunch. "You're the best! I get to see dolphins again!" He laughs and hugs Keith tight.

Keith nuzzles back once they are in the room. "I wouldn't say I'm the best but it's appreciated. Maybe in the future, we can take a ship to see the dolphins you actually know."

"The," Lance pokes Keith's chest, "best." Then looks a bit nervous. "I'm not sure about that." He looks to the ground. "I still don't like ships. And I'm sure they are...long since dead."

Keith kisses Lance's forehead. "I'm sorry." He had really wanted Lance to see his friends again that he forgot about Lance's fear for a second. "Maybe one of their kin will be at the aquarium."

"I seriously feel great." He laughs. "I feel like I got fucked like crazy, which I did." Matt laughs then touches his neck again. "I have to _find_ a turtleneck."

"Then let's get searching." Shiro, still hugging Matt, pulls him off the bed, not caring if his boyfriend was prepared or not for it.

Matt groans and flinches when he's pulled off the bed. "Oo. Felt that." He laughs a bit then follows Shiro to the closet.

Shiro starts shuffling through their clothes, looking for a turtle neck. He knows they have at least one but it might be a little big for Matt.

Matt koalas on Shiro's back not really putting much effort into finding it. Ironically, he is the one to spot it. Pointing, Matt finds the black turtleneck. "There it is. Should I dress in all black like someone else I know?"

Shiro takes the shirt out and hands it to Matt. "If you want to," Shiro laughs," Not sure if you have black pants though."

"I have that pair I bought a few months back cuz they were super on sale and them never wore." He laughs remembering it.

Shiro chuckles. "Did you put it in here or did we never wash it?"

"I think it's hanging in here. Probably still has tags though." He finally stands of his own accord and sifts through until he pulls then out. "Oh right. Skinny jeans." He laughs louder. "I'm gonna look special today."

"More eye candy for me," Shiro teases while squeezing Matt's butt.

Matt smirks. "Ooh I like that too then." He turns back to Shiro and kisses him with his eyebrow still raised.

Placing both hands on Matt's butt, Shiro pulls him closer to deepen the kiss. Matt moans a little before hooking his hands behind Shiro's back and clawing into his shoulders.

Shiro hums softly into the kiss and pulls away when he needs to breath. "Do you want to pick out my outfit?" he asks softly.

Matt follows Shiro by leaning forward and kisses him quickly when he pulls away. Smiling, Matt looks Shiro over with an eyebrow raised. "Ok. You look perfect." He smirks.

Shiro gave him a look that says 'I get it but seriously'.

"You don't want me to dress you." Matt says with a grin as he pulls his shirt off to reveal a couple other bruises made from throughout the night. "I'll pick anime stuff and you know it."

"Whatever makes you happy. You are being extra eye candy today." Shiro knows some anime but definitely nowhere near as much as Matt. He only really knows the mainstream ones and the ones Matt forces him to watch.

"Pffft." Matt waves his hand playfully before pulling the shirt over his head. "Whatever." He then leans over and grabs one of his favorite anime shirts and pair of Shiro's typical black pants. "There." He smiles deviously. "Still think you look better like this."

"I need appropriate clothes, Matt." He starts to change into the outfit Matt gave him. He doesn't recognize the anime but it does look familiar.

Matt looks at Shiro and likes how form fitting his shirt is on Shiro. He teasingly licks his lips and smiles. "Yup. Perfection." He shrugs. "Well no that's a lie perfection is you with nothing. But like you said, appropriate and all that."

Shiro blushes and lightly hits Matt's chest. "Let's go see if Pidge wants to come."

"Whaaat?" Matt says playfully. "I'm not lying." He grabs his phone and texts pidge. "Mission complete."

Shiro then can hear a small boom sound from Pidge's room. He gives Matt a look that is a mix of both surprised and worried. "What did you text them?"

"Shiro in anime shirt. Taking siren to aquarium. Coming?" Matt responds with a shrug.

"Then why did Pidge react that like?" He points in the direction of Pidge's room. It took Shiro a second before he asks," Is it about me wearing an anime shirt or being able to see Lance around aquatic animals?"

Matt shrugs and laughs. "Probably a combo of the two?" He thinks. "I'm not sure."

Shiro shakes his head in disbelief. "Let's go wait in the living room."

"Ill actually go make sure it wasn't anything bad with Pidge first, ok?" Matt says before giving Shiro a kiss on the cheek and darting away.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

"Its ok." Lance smiles, especially when he feels Keith's lips on his forehead. "Maybe one day i'll try again." He kisses Keith's neck. "I'll just be happy to see dolphins again. They're cute."

Keith pulls away to pluck out some whip cream from Lance's hair. "Let's go shower before we forget."

Lance nods and follows Keith to the bathroom before kissing his neck again. "Good idea. Then we can go see dolphins."

"There will be so much more than just dolphins," Keith mumbles as he starts undressing Lance.

"Really?!" He get even more excited just thinking about it. "I can't wait." He giggles and kisses Keith excitedly then starts to take Keith's shirt off too.

Once they are both shirtless, they work on getting the others pant off. "There is all different types of fish, jellyfish, turtles, and sea otters," Keith lists.

Lance just glows brilliantly as he imagines it all. He's so excited that he tries to help get his pants off before hurrying into the shower. "You're seriously the best. I love you so much!"

Keith follows Lance into the shower. "Only for you," he whispers as he hugs Lance and turns on the water. At first it was cold and slowly get warmer.

Lance hugs back and kisses from Keith's shoulder up to his ear. "You're perfect. The best human." He says between kisses. "Seriously."

"Come on," Keith whines while trying to get Lance to stop," We gotta clean our hair." He doesn't need to end up more of a blushing mess than he already was.

Lance kisses him a couple more times then sighs before pulling away to watch him. He runs his hands over Keith's chest, still in love with with body and the feeling of it. "I know, I know. I just have a hard time staying away." Not sure which is the right bottle for cleaning hair, Lance just sighs and steps back.

"I'm just that addicting, huh?" Keith grabs the shampoo bottle and puts some on his hand before handing the bottle to Lance.

Lance takes the bottle and laughs. "Human aphrodisiac." He teases a little before carefully putting some of the shampoo in his hand. "Your smile makes my heart skip a beat every time."

Keith tries not to but he is just too happy. He smiles widely. To quickly direct Lance's attention elsewhere, he puts the shampoo in his hand onto Lance's hair and combs it through.

Lance just smiles and laughs. He closes his eyes and hums into the feeling then tries to return the favor. "Shampoo smells nice." He sings.

"Better than whip cream?" Keith asks with a raised eyebrow. He starts messaging Lance's scalp.

"Nope." Lance says without a thought. "But nice." He hums, eyes still closed as he adores the feeling of Keith's fingers in his hair. "Whip cream is good." He laughs a bit before adding, "but messy."

Keith chuckles. He massages for a little bit longer before giving Lance the chance to return the favor.

Lance massages Keith's scalp for a while before helping both of them get under the water to get rinsed. "Time for dolphins and stuff?" Lance asks as he wipes the water from his eyes.

Keith chuckles. Lance is so impatient but they didn't really need to take a full shower. "Sure." He grabs a towel for each of them.

Lance grins and dries off as fast as his coordination will let him then waits for Keith. "What should I wear? My outfit or something of yours again?"

Keith dries quickly as well. "One of mine. We still have to wash your clothes," he says. He doesn't add that he doesn't want others staring at Lance due to the outfit.

Lance nods and smiles. "I get to smell like you again!" He says happily. "I like that."

Keith blushes but smiles. They walk into the bedroom and search through Keith's clothing again. "Do you want to pick this time?"

Lance looks through the clothes then shrugs. "There aren't many colors to pick from."

Keith smiles sheepishly. "Sorry. You can go by the pictures on them." Some of his shirts are graphic tees. Some of those are anime shirts.

Lance looks through again then pulls out the graphic t with the most colors and a pair of jeans. "These ok?"

"Yeah, perfect," he smiles. "Do you want us to match?" Keith already has a hand on a plain shirt of the same base color in case Lance doesn't care.

"Yeah lets match." Lance says with a giggle then leans in and kisses along Keith's collarbone before nibbling the crook of his neck.

Keith hums softly and grabs a shirt of the same anime. "P-people will see if you leave a mark there."

"I won't leave a mark." Lance hums before kissing him again and licking the skin there a bit as if it would wipe away any marks.

Keith shivers. He knows that they should finish getting ready but doesn't stop Lance. Keith is biting his lips to keep himself from making any noise.

Lance hums when he notices Keith shiver. He pulls back for a second of, loving the look on Keith's face. "So," he kisses up Keith's neck and bites behind his ear, "damn " he then licks along Keith's ear before giggling a bit as he feels Keith growing red, "sexy." He finishes at last.

Keith lets out a shaky breath. He grips onto Lance in hope that it would keep his mind somewhat focused.

Lance pulls back and watches him with a smile. "I should stop huh?" He says before grinning almost deviously. "Unless you want me to repay you for taking me to see dolphins before we go?"

Keith shakes his head weakly. He knows that everyone else is probably waiting for them. "Change," he mumbles.

Lance grins and kisses him again. "Sure?" He hums then runs his hand down Keith's chest. "I could be quick." He tempts. Keith shivers, loving how seducing Lance looks. He opens his mouth to argues but no words come out.

Lance smirks, Keith hadn't said no so he pushes Keith onto the bed and kneels down. "Thank you for this." Lance hums then licks up Keith's erection before starting to take him into his mouth.

Keith lets out a shaky moan. He goes to cover his mouth but stops since he knows that Lance prefers hearing him.

Lance hums when he hears Keith and slowly takes Keith into his mouth before starting to bob his head up and down before starting to deep throat him.

He combs his hands into Lance's hair and moans. Lance's mouth is so hot and he can feel Lance's throat. God it felt so good.

Lance hums and pulls back a bit before taking Keith deeper again. He makes bigger motions for a while before deep throating him and humming again.

Keith moans louder and pulls at Lance's hair a little. "Lance," he moans.

Lance lifts to Keith's tip and licks it teasingly, waiting just long enough for it to make Keith want more then starts bobbing down fast and up slowly before taking all of him in again and moaning into it.

Keith can already feel himself nearing climax. "Lance~ So good," he moans.

Lance doesn't stop this time. He slides his hands both up Keith's chest and plays with both nipples as he sucks him.

"Ahhh~ Lance~!" Keith bucks his hips, not being able to control it anymore. "I- I'm ahh~ close!"

Lance pinches Keith's nipples then rubs them a bit more before scratching down his chest then deep throats him again.

"Lance~ Lance~" His dick swells as he feels himself at the edge. "C-cumming aaaaahhh~!" He throws his head back and thrusts his hips.

Lance scratches Keith's hips as he comes and swallows until Keith is done. He licks him clean then crawls up next to him. "Thank you." He says with a small laugh.

Keith blushes and pants lightly. "Now you gotta change me," he says softly.

Lance kisses Keith once deeply before grabbing clothes and starting to get him dressed. "I'm getting better at clothes!" He announces excitedly.

"You are," Keith agrees as his shirt goes over his face. Once he is fully dressed, he makes sure Lance is all dressed and ready to go before they join everyone else in the living room. Lance follows behind Keith, nuzzling him and gripping him tight when they exit the room.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … …**

He knocks on Pidge's door. "You're good right?"

"Yeah!" Pidge yells from inside.

"Ok just making sure." He stands outside the room. "So which was the cause of the commotion? The shirt or the siren?"

Pidge opens the door. "Both. How did you convince Shiro to wear an anime shirt?"

Matt looks down at himself. "I dressed like this?" He shrugs, confusion on his face. "Like...I literally didn't even struggle or anything. Just handed it to him and he's wearing it." He sighs. "He looks good too."

"You guys a gross," Pidge says before squeezing past Matt to head to the living room.

"Oh whatever." Matt chases after them and grabs them in a big brother bear hug. "You love us and you know it!"

"Aah! Let go!" Pidge struggled to get out of the hug.

Matt lets them go but messes up Pidge's hair with a laugh. He looks toward the hall where the boys are. "How much longer do you think they will be? Should we take bets?"

"I say 30 minutes."

"Ill guess...they've already been in there a bit...but they were going to shower...maybe...20." Matt elbows Shiro, knowing he likely won't love making a bet on something like this. "How about you?"

Shiro frowns and folds his arms. "I'm not going to bet. I'm sure they will come out when they are ready."

"Pffft. You just don't want to lose." Matt hip bumps Shiro and smirks at him

Shiro pouts. That is one reason but the main one is that this was Lance and Keith's idea, he isn't going to rush or time them.

Matt pouts then just grabs his phone and looks the aquarium info over. "I wonder how lance will react to the aquarium." He muses as he looks over it.

"I'm sure he'll love it. He was so excited when he asked if we would go," Shiro said.

"Yeah, he was pretty noisy about it huh?" Matt shows Pidge a picture of one of the more rare fish there.

Pidge snatched the phone to examine the picture closer.

"Right? How cool." Matt leans over Pidge to look at it. "Does it say how new that one is to this aquarium?"

"A week ago," Pidge answers while they scan the facts about the fish.

Matt grins then looks back to Shiro and licks his lips then winks. He blows him a kiss.

Shiro blushes and looks away. His arms are still crossed but it just looks so silly with him wearing a tight anime shirt.

Matt touches his heart and flutters his eyes before grabbing pidge. "Look at him." He says playfully. "The image of perfection I tell ya."

Pidge looks at Shiro the scoffs. "To you." Pidge hands Matt their phone and goes back to reading on Matt's. Pidge knows how much Matt loves taking pictures of Shiro.

Matt bows and takes the phone, grabbing Shiro and taking a slew of selfies, all trying to get Shiro to smile more than the last.

"Do you think Lance will know some of the fish in there?" Pidge asks, not looking up.

"I'm sure he'll at least know a bunch of the types I'm sure." Matt says before blowing raspberries on Shiro's cheek. "He certainly knew dolphins."

Shiro whined and tried to push Matt away. "But will he _know_ them?" Pidge asks again. Before they could get an answer, Lance and Keith arrive.

Lance sees everyone else and smiles to them. "Are we all going to see the dolphins?!"

"Yes, we are all going," Shiro answered Lance.

Lance grins and nods. He heard Pidge's question. "Depends on where they came from and how old they are." He responds to them honestly. Over time, he'd stopped trying to keep information from these humans. "Most of the ones I knew from the ocean are probably dead by now but we can see!"

Pidge tries to think of which animals could be old enough for Lance to know while everyone followed Shiro out of the house and into the car.

Lance crawls in as he had and basically pulls Keith into him. "Im so excited!" He laughs. "I will know these things!"

Keith smiles and nuzzled into Lance. "You'll get to teach me this time."

"Too many couples," Pidge complains quietly.

"I will!" He says excitedly then nuzzles Keith back. Lance sees Pidge pouting and feels bad for them. He smiles at Pidge. "I like you!" He announces, not sure what to say to cheer them up. He then stretches to poke them and smiles again.  
Matt laughs a bit at Lance's reaction to Pidge.

Pidge can't help but crack a smile and pokes Lance's arm. "I like you too."

Lance grins, deciding to try to pay more attention to Pidge. "You like knowing things right?" He asks. "Want me to tell you anything?"

"Yeah! There is a new fish at the aquarium, do you know anything about them?" Pidge shows Lance a picture of the fish.

"Oh the cyprichromis?" Lance nods. "The males are always way more colorful. "I'm surprised they have one. They are normally pretty shy."

"Is that why they are so rare?"

"They aren't that rare in the ocean. They're just good at hiding really." He thinks then shakes his head. "Ok, they're more rare than some others." Lance thinks about it. "Last I knew the males were very low in population too that could be part of it."

"Is it possible they are slowly going extinct?" Pidge asked with a slight hint of worry. These fish were too cool to die off.

"Hmm it's possible I suppose, but I think they will be okay." Lance smiles as he interlaces his hand with Keith's. "Their numbers were always greater than that of merpeople and we've survived for years. They just don't like new faces much." He laughs a bit, as though remembering meeting one before.

Pidge hums in thought, not being able to think of a question not already answered by the aquariums information. Keith lays his head on Lance's shoulder.

Lance grins to Keith and nuzzles him. "Thank you so much for this." He squeezes his hand again. "It means a lot." Keith hums and squeezes back. He wonders what Lance will think of all the different types of fish and if he will be amazed by the glass walls.

Lance waits - albeit anxiously - to get to the dolphins. He's clearly surprised when they park near a building, but it doesn't stifle his excitement. "Is it here!? Is it?!"

Shiro chuckles," Yes, the dolphins are in there." Everyone climbs out and walks towards the line just outside.


	18. Chapter 18

Lance is overjoyed. When they enter the building and he sees the mocked ocean, he doesn't realize how close to crying he is. He steps over to one of the larger panes of glass and stares into it, almost longingly. As he does a couple of fish dart by, stopping - rather uncharacteristically - to meet Lance's gaze before appearing to dart the opposite way again. One of his hands touch the pane of glass as he quietly looks into the water.

Keith stands next to Lance, noticing the longing look. It hurts his heart.

Lance almost forgets he's with other humans for a bit. It's been so long since he's seen some of these fish and coral this bright. All sound catches in his throat as a small school of fish swim by and circle him, seeming to flash their scales his way. He laughs for them and does a particular wave with one hand.

The other three watch from a few steps back. "Looks like the fish realize," Pidge commented.

Matt nods when he sees the second round of fish seem to react to him as well. "I wonder if he just sounds different or something to them?" He speaks quietly, though he isn't sure why. When he watches Lance, Matt can't help but feel guilty. "Maybe this wasn't a great idea after all?"

"I'm sure Lance will be okay," Shiro reassured despite thinking the same thing." Pidge just adjusted their glasses, trying to figure out if Lance was somehow actually communicating with the fish.

Slowly, Keith leans his head on Lance's shoulder. "Do you know them?" he asks softly.

Lance jumps a bit when Keith touches him but smiles. "No, but someone has told them about me." He grins while looking around. "Apparently an old friend tells these fish lots of stories." Following a line of fish that had shown up, Lance starts to walk down the glass hall until they all dart away. After a second, a large sea turtle swims up and basically comes face to face with Lance. When it stops, Lance's eyes light up. He's quiet for a second. "I've missed you too!" He says excitedly then tilts his head and looks down before groaning, "Allura."

Keith stays silent and watches Lance with a soft smile until Lance groans. He follows Lance's eyes and tilts his head in confusion. "Allura?"

Lance looks back to Keith then perks up excitedly and pulls Keith over. "This is my human Keith!" He nuzzles Keith's neck then answers Keith's question. "He noticed I was missing my tail. I told him why." Then he quickly looks back and groans again. "Where?"

Keith blushes slightly, feeling weird about being showed off to a turtle. He hums before saying, "You're the one who mentioned Allura, I thought you saw her."

"Oh I was responding to him is all. He can understand us pretty well." Lance looks back then watches as a seahorse swims up. He tilts his head then shakes his head before waving to a swarm of fish that had been trying to get his attention. "Yeah I'm sure she's laughing plenty." Lance grumbles - seemingly to the seahorse.

Keith can only hear one side of the conversation so he just remains quiet. They are probably talking about Allura again.

"It's...pretty crazy to see how everything acts around him huh?" Matt is somewhere between Pidge's curiosity and Shiro's concern. He watches the fish and can't help but assume they are communicating somehow but he also carefully watches to see if there are any crowds noticing how the fish are acting. He nudges Pidge and points around, noting the distinct increase of fish in the area.

"How do they all know him?" Pidge wonders aloud. They step closer to examine all the different fish and how they are acting. Shiro on the other hand is continuously looking around, making sure no one notices that Lance has most of the fishes attention. Luckily it's not too crowded so early in the morning.

Matt can't help but be absolutely fascinated. He's never seen fish swarm like this at the aquarium. Even when it was feeding time most darted back and forth. Looking at them all, Matt looks back to Shiro in awe and smiles. "I have no idea." Matt says, speaking almost breathlessly.

Shiro turns his attention to Matt. "Hmn?" He doesn't understand why Matt is suddenly looking love struck.

"This is just...so cool." He grabs Shiro and hugs him. "How many chances do you get to see fish act like this?" Matt grabs Pidge's arm. "Do they have many big fish? That could get a bit intimidating yeah?"

Shiro wraps his arms around Matt and goes back to looking around. "I don't think this tank has any big ones. The biggest might be the turtle," Pidge says. They pull out their phone and start taking pictures both with and without Lance in frame.

Matt hugs Shiro's arms then gasps. "What if the dolphins and stuff act like this too?!" He says - maybe a bit more loudly than he meant to.

Shiro feels horrified for a second, thinking someone heard Matt but calms when no one reacts. He smiles at Matt and says," That would be very cute."

"Oh man." He bounces like an excited child. "This is so freaking cool." Matt turns to pidge and points out some of the more well known "shy fish" coming up to spy on Lance.

Lance tightens his grip on Keith then lifts Keith's hand this time. "Do this." He waves his hand in jerky motions toward a school of fish who - in response - seem to dance back and forth a bit.

Keith's eyes widen in amazement when the fish actually respond to him. "Is this how you say hello?" He can't take his eyes off the school of fish.

"It's one of the ways yeah." Lance laughs as the fish dart around happily, as though pleased a human knew how to properly communicate. "When I was a siren I could speak with them, but much like with my purring I can't make the sounds anymore." Trying not to get too sad, Lance smiles. "But I can still understand them." He sighs then looks back to the seahorse. "Yes even you."

"What else can you say with hand gestures?" Keith asked, excited to learn more. Pidge looks towards the the new fish and quickly takes pictures. They make sure to not to move too quickly so they don't startle the fish.

Lance grins, excited to see Keith being interested. He makes a few more motions and the fish do different dances to mimic those motions too. "It's more saying hello and showing you are a friend." Lance grins then watches as Keith does the same. He looks back to the others. "They'll do the same for you. Just come say hi."

Pidge quickly jumps at the chance and moves a little closer to Lance before mimicking the hand motions. The other hand is holding the phone as it records the fish dance.

Shiro shyly steps up and tries to say hello but fails, evident in the way the fish ignore him. He gives Lance a sheepish smile.

Lance steps up and holds Shiro's hand, using his to make the same motion. This time, the fish almost look like they laugh before returning the motion. "Fish are very playful." Lance says quietly. "So just be silly and they will likely enjoy it." He finally lets go of Shiro's hand then slowly starts to make his way through the glass hallway.

A mom - or babysitter who knows - comes in with a kid who seems super excited that this many fish are out. The kid bounds down the hall toward them and - hearing his excitement, Lance turns and kneels. "Watch." He tells the boy before waving and having the fish do the same. Lance doesn't seem to realize this isn't normal for most humans.

The rest of the group sees and is instantly horrified. Keith quickly hooks arm with Lance. "Let's go over there! Dolphins!" Keith tries to sound excited rather than scared. In order to make it seem more natural, Pidge and Shiro wave to make the fish dance again. Hopefully the woman thinks it's some new trick people have learned.

The woman seems something between amazed and perturbed by the way the fish reacted but can't help but smile when the little boy starts bouncing around and excitedly telling her how the fish waved back. However, she certainly notes the distinct difference in the amount of fish around one Lance is gone.

Lance looks around to the group a little confused by the sudden desire to move but he's excited to see the dolphins anyway. He looks around then watches the boy try to wave, hoping to help him out, Lance gives a small nod and the fish sort of respond to the boy before realizing Lance was leaving and slowly dispersing. Tilting his head when he sees the worried look on Keith's face, Lance stops him. "What's wrong? I was just trying to teach him out to do it too."

"It's..." He doesn't want to ruin this for trip for Lance. "It's nothing. I just... We should hurry." Keith's heart wouldn't stop racing, worried if the woman will figure out Lance's secret.

Lance pouts and looks confused but doesn't argue. He scratches his head, waving at a few fish that dart past last second. Turning to look for the others, Lance realizes it's just him and Keith. "Where's everyone else?"

Keith looks back. "Not really sure. Maybe they wanted to wave to the fishes more." He honestly didn't really care since they could always just text him to meet up and he just needed to get Lance away from the scene.

Pidge waits a bit before going in the same direction Keith dragged Lance off to, hoping no one will connect that they are together.

Matt had stayed with Pidge, realizing what they were doing. He watches the woman and little boy and can't help but be a bit unnerved by the look on her face. Looking toward Pidge, Matt tries to force a grin despite his nerves.

Shiro can't stop peeking back at the woman but is doing his best to not go into full panic mode.

When Lance sees the area with the dolphins, he can't help but move a bit faster. He presses up against the glass like a kid and laughs even before the dolphins are close. Just like the fish, however, they too quickly come over to say hi. Only they are much more vocal about it. Lance trails a hand across the glass and looks sad for a moment since he can't touch them but smiles and nods. Responding to something they've said.

Still panicking from earlier, Keith looks around. Luckily, there is no one around to see what is happening (other than Pidge, Matt and Shiro) but that doesn't calm Keith down at all. Anyone could walk in at any moment.

Lance tilts his head and walks along the glass, pretending to be swimming with them a bit as they all talk. It interesting to hear them all talk one after the other. He just nods occasionally and interjects with answers where appropriate. He is blissfully unaware of the panic everyone else is dealing with as he talks to them, feeling more at home than he has in a long time.

Matt grabs Shiro and pulls him around the corner. When he sees the group of dolphins all doing the same thing as the fish, Matt is both amazed and horrified. "What do we do?" He asks nervously. "This was the part he was most excited about."

"There really isn't a way to keep anyone from entering this area, it's one of the most popular spots," Shiro says.

"Should we come up with a story?" Matt starts, body perking up before slinking down. "Though Lance might not get _why_ we are doing what we're doing-" Getting quiet, Matt realizes he can hear the little boy still talking about the waving fish and his voice is getting louder.

Keith tries to force his heart to slow down. The others are here and they can help. It starts to work but then fails when he notices Shiro starting to really panic. Shiro's expression shows pure fear. "What do we do?!" Shiro yell whispers.

Lance looks over when he hears Shiro and notices the look of horror on everyone's face. He looks around, not realizing what it was at first. Then it somehow clicks. Seconds before the boy darts around the corner, Lance seems to wordlessly communicate to scatter and the dolphins do. He touches the glass though, and one of them comes back to swim along the glass, almost angrily chirping before looking at the boy and waving. It then spins away. Hoping he has helped, Lance looks to Keith and smiles.

Matt exhales loudly and seems to pray to some unknown deity, thanking them that Lance is smart. He looks back to Pidge then grabs Shiro's hand.

The boy jumps and grabs at the woman, excited that _another fish waved at him!_ She is happy and smiles, but clearly takes note that it happened with the same group in the room.

Not wanting to show too much in front of the woman, Keith just lays his head on Lance's shoulder. He wants to thank Lance but keeps those words in. "Good thinking," he whispers.

Shiro hugs Matt and is practically putting all his weight on Matt. Pidge puts away their phone, looking slightly disappointing. Matt could only guess that Pidge had hacked into something.

Matt messes up Shiro's hair, trying to relax the clearly stressed out guy and laughs. Leading them away, Matt watches Pidge before heading out of the dolphin area. He looks to see Lance and Keith following slowly behind.

"Is it really so strange?" He makes quick eye contact with a playful dolphin and smiles. "For sea life to interact like this I mean."

Keith nods. "Yeah. They never react like that unless with a trainer that has been with them for a while." He nuzzles into Lance's neck. "I'm sorry. You were so excited to see them."

Lance smiles and shakes his head. "It's ok. We can come back." He laughs then holds Keith's hand tight. "I got to see an old friend! That was amazing." Kissing Keith's neck, Lance grins. "All thanks to you." He hums.

Keith holds Lance's hand just as tight. "If we find another empty area, we can relax there," Keith suggests.

Lance takes a deep breath. "We can just go too. I don't want to make you all worried." He looks into another tank as they pass through another tunnel and these fish swim alongside Lance as well. Looking at them with a smile, Lance swallows hard, trying to deny how much he misses the ocean. "You would love the ocean." Lance says quietly. "It's busy but solitary all at once. Quiet but musical. " He cuddles into Keith as they walk. "I should take you there sometime."

Keith looks at Lance sadly. "I would love to go but are you sure you want to leave the aquarium so soon? I'm sure now that we know, we can figure out a plan to avoid others."

"It's fine." Lance shakes his head. "I'm fine staying but I'd rather not make you all worry." He takes a deep breath, realizing he's making stupid amounts of sacrifice for his human but just not caring. "I'm happy with you all. These fish are just strangers that make me think of...another life."

"Is there... Anything you want to do? This trip was meant for you so..." Keith trailed off as his eyes gravitate to the floor.

Lance puts his hand on Keith's cheek and makes him look up at him. "Karmele, don't look sad. It breaks my heart." He kisses him then wraps an arm around Keith's waist. "If you guys really don't mind...I would love to stay a bit longer." He nuzzles Keith before looking back to everyone else, who had just finally reached this hallway.

Matt nods. "Dude, I get to see a ton of fish up close and unafraid. This is the best trip to the aquarium ever." He is the most carefree of them all.

Keith nuzzles into Lance's neck. "Is there a way for you to tell the fish not to react to you before they all gather?" Pidge asked.

"If not, we can stand guard and give you a signal when people are coming," Shiro says.

Lance laughs a little. He shrugs. "They can't hear me that good but maybe if I told some to tell the others it might work." He looks to Pidge with a smile then looks nearly ready to cry happy tears when he realizes they are all willing to work together to let him stay. "You guys..." He says with a warm smile. "Thank you." Lance grabs Keith tight and looks back to the water, an odd mix of happy and homesick now.

Very slowly, Shiro walks up and hugs both Keith and Lance. He lightly pressed his forehead against the side of Lance's head. After Shiro, Matt joined the hug while Pidge stood in place, watching them.

Lance tensed up a bit at first but relaxed a bit and hums into the hug. He laughs when Matt joins too then looks over at Pidge as if offended they didn't join. "I'm sorry I was so mean when I first met you guys." Lance says quietly.

Pidge sees the look and sighs. They reluctantly joined the hug.  
"I'm sorry that we were mean too," Shiro replies.

Lance smiles when Pidge joins then laughs and shakes his head. "I am - was - a siren. Everyone is like that to us. It's ok." He nuzzles Keith. "Well, almost everyone." He adds with a chuckle before turning to watch another fish swim excitedly by. It swims circles before Lance leans in, putting his hand on the glass and quietly speaking to it. "I'm excited to see you all too. But, tell the others...no more swarming me. I'll get in trouble." After he speaks, the fish hurriedly swims off.

"How long is this hug going to last," Pidge playfully complained. No one was keeping them in the hug yet they stayed in place.

Lance grins and grabs Pidge in a tighter hug and laughs. "Until I say so!" He teases while nuzzling into Pidge's hair before looking surprised. "Your hair is even fluffier than Keith's!"

Keith chuckles and says," That's why it defies the laws of gravity." He messes with Pidge's hair a little, causing them to groan.

Lance nuzzles it a second more then finally lets them go. He turns back to the glass and slowly walks down the hall, looking around and watching the fish. They all seem to react far more than normal still but most of them aren't swarming anymore. "Love you Karmele."

"Love you too Nixie," Keith replies with a soft smile.

Lance loses himself pretty quickly again when a school of fish swim by and flash their scales to Lance before swimming in circles. He looks into the water, leaning against the glass with a sigh.

The other three staid several steps behind, watching the fish. Shiro still looked around for other people.

Matt cuddles into Shiro now that the stress has died down some. "Still an awesome visit, huh?"

Shiro turns to Matt with a smile. "Yeah." He hugs Matt close and quickly checks around the room before quickly kisses Matt.

Matt kisses back with a happy smile before watching as Lance walks around to a new tank. This one has a young octopus. He waves at it then it slowly crawls up the glass and moves itself around to see him better.

"He's smart." Lance says then looks at Keith and nuzzles his neck. "He knows you are all my friends and said thank you."

Keith chuckles. "How can he tell?" He asks while waving at the octopus.

Lance looks back to the octopus hand smiles. "He says he can see it around us." He nods. "There's a warmth between friends I suppose." He puts his hand against the glass before reaching for Keith's hand and holding it tight.

"Can they..." Keith grips Lance tightly. "Can they tell that you were a siren? Or do they all know from your other friends?"

"A little of both really." Lance says with a lopsided smile. He nuzzles Keith and hums. "They've heard stories and most say my vibrations are different." He sighs as he watches them swim away. Lance is totally unaware how sad he looks.

Keith nuzzles into Lance's neck and asks," Do you... want to go swimming? I-It won't be with fishes but..." He doesn't know what will make Lance happy without making him homesick.

Lance laughs and shakes his head. "I can hardly walk let alone try to swim with these things." He hugs Keith and smiles, trying to remind himself he is happy. "But going to the beach would be nice at least."

"Alright, let's-" Keith cuts himself off when he turns and sees the sign for the penguins. Has Lance ever seen one? There is still so many animals Lance hasn't seen here. Change of plans. "Let's walk through the rest of the aquarium then we'll go."

Lance nods then follows beside Keith with a smile. When the reach the penguin exhibit, Lance laughs a little. "I've heard of these guys!" He watches but they don't react quite as much as the fish did, though some are obviously curious.

Keith chuckles. "Do you want to take a picture with one?" he asks, taking out his phone. "It looks really cool when a bunch of them dive into the water together."

Lance nods excitedly then kneels down by the glass, trying to get their attention as he waves and smiles at them. He really is like a little kid there. "They're so cute!" He laughs excitedly.  
Matt elbows Shiro and chuckles. "You always said you wanted to adopt a kid right?" He motion s to how Lance is acting and smirks.

Shiro looks and chuckles. Keith is taking photos of Lance as they interact with the penguins. "Technically, we have three kids," Shiro smirks and looks to Pidge. Pidge doesn't look up from their phone but flips the older man off.

Matt laughs and messes up Pidge's hair before leaning into Shiro again. "It's still hard to believe. All this, you know?" Shiro nods and nuzzles Matt.

Lance grabs the phone, having remembered how to take pictures but not remembering that Keith didn't know that, and starts to take pictures of the two of them. "My adorable Keith!" He laughs as he takes a picture of just Keith.

"Wait, Lance! When did you learn to do that?" Keith blushes and tries to grab his phone back. Who taught him?!

Lance smiles and takes another picture. "Pidge taught me!" He grins then gives him an Eskimo kiss. "I took a bunch while you were asleep yesterday." Then he nuzzles his neck and kisses it. "You looked so cute."

Keith becomes beat red and hides his face in Lance's neck. He doesn't know if he should hate or thank Pidge for this. He also needs to check his pictures more often now that Lance knows how to use his phone.

Lance laughs again when Keith hides his face then looks to Pidge and gives them a huge, toothy smile. "Well let's go see other creatures, no?" He runs his fingers through Keith's hair then kisses his head.

Keith slowly lifts his head up, still blushing. There are two other entries to the penguin exhibit than the one they just came through. "Sea lions or whales?" Keith asks.

"There are whales here?!" Lance grabs Keith excitedly. He looks around, trying to decipher the signs himself before he sees a picture of one and takes off. "I haven't hear a whale song in ages!" He is laughing before they reach the hall, disgustingly happy again.

Keith is surprised when Lance bolts for the whales. It took his a few steps to finally match Lance's speed. "Have you met any of the species they have here?" Keith asks once they reach the exhibit. The main whale here is the killer whale but they have a two others.

"I've met a few." He admits before darting over to the water, watching for them. It doesn't take long for one of the orcas to excitedly swim up and start chattering. Lance grins again and nuzzles into Keith. "This is the best." He says quietly as he listens to them sing.

Keith smiles and whispers," Go stand next to them." He takes his phone back and prepares to take photos.

Lance nods and does. But not before putting his hand on the glass to which one of them almost seems to respond by putting a fin up. He smiles for the pictures but ends up half turned in a couple as he had kept turning to look at the whales again. After a second, Lance waves for Keith to come too then motions to take a picture of them all. When he does another bigger whale comes up too and ends up in that photo.

"Can you understand all of them?" Keith asks as he scrolls through his his gallery. He shows Lance all the pictures he took just now.

"Most of it." He nods then shrugs and points to the bigger one. "She has an odd accent though so it's hard to decipher." He watches the pictures and smiles warmly. "You're so perfect." He nuzzles Keith then kisses his neck. "Look how adorable you are."

"I'm not adorable," Keith whines softly as he blushes more. He ends up scrolling to the pictures Lance took yesterday and blushing more. He'd prefer it if Lance was the one sleeping.

Lance laughs loudly and pokes Keith's nose. "You really are though." He teases before leaning in and kissing up and down his neck playfully. "Especially when you're all red and blushy and try to hide it." Lance sings then turns to the water and nods to one of the whales. "They're gonna go eat. Can we go watch?"

Keith whines and grows redder. When Lance turns his attention back to the animals, he presses the top of his head against the side of Lance's and shakes his head.

Lance turns to look at Keith, a bit surprised that he shook his head. "Really? Why not? They said it's not far."

Keith pouts. "I wasn't saying no." Using his head, he lightly pushes Lance. "I'm attacking you."

Lance laughs then nuzzles into his hair. "Very intimidating." He laughs a bit louder then teasingly trails his fingers up Keith's sides. "Should I fight back?"

Keith's body tenses. "No." He pouts more. "We have to go to the feeding area." He starts to curve his body away from Lance's fingers.

"Are you suuuuure?" Lance lets him go but follows after with tickling fingers out. "You're just using it as an excuse!" He teases as Keith takes off away from him.

"No I'm not!" He is obviously faster than Lance but he feels the need to get far ahead. He reaches the feeding area and stands in the middle of the area. His position shows that he is ready to run at any moment.

Lance finally catches up but his legs weren't ready for running just yet. He takes a minute to breathe, putting his hands on his knees and grumbling under his breath.

Keith relaxes and slowly approaches Lance, still being couscous. "You okay?"

Lance nods and snatches Keith in a hug when he's close. "Legs just got wobbly." He says before playfully nuzzling his neck. Then he points to where the animals are being fed. He walks that way and watches the human feeding them almost jealous of the interaction.

While Lance watched, Keith stood right next to Lance. Their shoulders were touching. "How come the big one isn't eating?" Keith asked, pointing to the big whale that's staying off to the side.

"Hm?" Noticing who Keith is talking about, Lance tilts his head and waves a bit. It sings in response. "She's worried about upsetting the others. She's just anxious is all."

Lance walks over then kneels down, probably a bit closer to the worker than most guests typically would. He looks over at the worker after watching the whale for a minute. "Can I try?" He asks before holding a hand out. "Feeding her over there I mean."

The worker looks over at the whale then back at Lance. They hesitate to let a visitor feed but Lance is really calm, as if he has done this job before. "Sure." They gives Lance a glove, which Keith is quick to help Lance put on, before handing over a fish.

Lance takes the fish and walks away a bit. He kneels down, glancing toward the others to make sure they won't come. "It's ok." He says in a sing song voice. "Just me. No one else will bother you." He smiles then watches as she nervously swims up, singing anxiously as she does. "I know. It's ok." He smiles then hands her the fish before turning back to the worker. "Should she have a bit more?" He asks with a smile.

Matt is gripping Shiro tight. "I'm so jealous right now!" He says in something between a whisper and a squeal.

"Isn't this bad?!" Shiro responds in a yell whisper. "Unless the worker is-"

"Wow! You figured out how to feed her! You should work here," the worker exclaimed with a big smile as they held out another fish for Lance to take. "Thanks for the help."

Lance shakes his head. "She's just shy." He smiles then takes another fish. "Try feeding her after the rest." He seems to suddenly realize what the worker said and smiles excitedly. "I could do that?! I'd love that." He turns when the whale sings. "Yeah I could feed you more often!" He says excitedly then stands up and motions for them to feed her now. "Let them help for now though, ok?" He talks to the whale as though it can totally understand. Curiously it sings back.

The worker just seems overjoyed, not caring that Lance seems to be able to talk with animals. Keith gently turns Lance to face him so he can help Lance take off the glove without touching the outer side. "We can ask the desk people for an application on our way out," Keith says.

"I mean...There are people that are natural at this stuff right?" Matt laughs nervously as Lance too easily interacts with the whale.

"If he works here, less people would wonder why the animals like him so much," Shiro says.

"True." Matt nods and holds Shiro's hand tight. "This could be awesome."

Lance smiles at Keith then turned back to the worker and nods. "I would seriously love that. We can do that when we leave?" He waves to the whale then excitedly grabs Keith's hand. "I could get a job here with all the fish! Then I could work too!"

Keith smiles. "Yeah. Two more animals than we can start heading out, okay?" He nuzzles Lance, not caring if the worker saw or not.

Lance nods excitedly. "Ok!" He laughs a bit then kisses Keith's neck. "Where to now?"

"Sea lions and then otters." Keith leads the way to the sea lions that were sunbathing on their rock in the middle of their pool.

Lance makes funny faces at the sea lions as they spot them. He laughs when one huffs at him but he just does it again. "Pft. Sea lions." He laughs then starts to tease them again.

"What are you doing?" Keith asks, not understanding what's so funny.

Another sea lion mocks his motions and huffs but none of them move from their rock. Lance just laughs again. "They love to play but they're just so lazy!" He laughs again. Apparently this was how he always interacted with them. "They're honestly kinda rude." He says more quietly, "But if you sass right back they like it."

Keith chuckles. "That's an odd thing to do for fun."

"I didn't say it makes sense." Lance admits before leaning in and kissing Keith suddenly. He sighs when they separate and just runs his hand over Keith's cheek.

Keith blushes slight and leans towards Lance's hand. "Having fun?" He asks softly.

"So much." Lance says happily while getting lost in Keith's eyes. Leaning in to touch foreheads, he hums. "I couldn't have asked for a better human."

Keith blushes more. "You think too highly of me," he mumbles to himself before kissing Lance.

Lance kisses back, burying his fingers into Keith's hair. When he pulls away, Lance is smiling again. "You just don't see yourself the way I do." He sighs then leans in to whisper in Keith's ear. "You are strong, thoughtful, amazing, gorgeous...should I keep going or are you red enough?"

"I- I'm red enough." His entire face is red with a hand over it, trying to cover it. Even his ears were slightly pink.

Lance giggles and kisses his ears. "Good." He says then wraps his arm around Keith's waist and turns to look for the otters. "Let's find the last animal then?"

Keith nods but doesn't try to pull out of the hug. In fact, he nuzzles into Lance's neck. "The otters love swimming near the glass when people are watching."

Lance hums when Keith nuzzles into him, holding him closer when he does. "Are those otters?" He points to the furry swimming things and looks like he might die from cuteness overload.

There are a few other people watching the otters but luckily they are out of earshot. "Yup. Those are otters. Have you never seen them before?"

Lance shakes his head and leans into the glass laughing as they all play. "They're so cute!" He laughs again and starts to move his fingers and a couple of them follow it. "I want one." He giggles.

Keith chuckles. "They aren't really pet animals but we can get a stuffed animal version." He pulls out his phone and takes photos while Lance is distracted.

Lance pouts a little then watches as two of them run over and start to play with one of the toys. "But it won't be able to play." He looks up to Keith with puppy eyes. "They're so cute." Lance almost squeaks when he says it again.

"Well..." Keith took a picture of Lance's puppy eyes and freezes for a second. God... Lance is the cutest thing in the world. "When you work here, you could play with them."

Lance lights up again. "That's right!" He jumps up again and grabs Keith in a hug. When he pulls away he has a serious expression. "I _have_ to work here."

Keith is surprised by the seriousness. "Yeah. I'm sure they will hire you but you'll have to start as a trainee."

"That's fine. I'll still be here." Looking around, Lance smiles. "Can we go see the desk person?" He cuddles Keith. "Please, please, pleaaaaase?"

Keith nuzzles Lance. "Calm down silly. We'll go get the paper for you."

"But I can be in the ocean while being human if I'm here." He says seriously. "I won't have to miss anything anymore."

Keith's smile turns a little sad. "Let's head to the front office." He starts leading the way to the gift shop.

Lance grabs his hand then wraps himself around Keith. "It's not your fault you know." He says quietly. "I've missed the ocean for years. The lake doesn't match it at all."

"I'm sorry," he whispers. He lays his head on Lance's shoulder for a second before lifting it up to crack his neck. "You sure you don't want a stuffed animal otter to bring home?"

Lance kisses his forehead. "I'm sure. I just got Chomp." He smiles and sighs. "I seriously love you."

Keith blushes lightly. "I love you too Nixie." They enter the gift shop and head straight to the cashier. "Is the aquarium hiring? He," Keith gestures to Lance," Would like to work here."

Lance smiles brilliantly and waves. The girl behind the counter gets flustered for a second then clears her throat. "I think, maybe?" She hands him the application then turns back to whatever she'd been doing before. "Worth a shot anyway." She mumbles.

Lance watches her with curious eyes then leans in and whispers to Keith. "Whys she acting like that?"

Keith shrugs. "Maybe she thinks you're good looking," he whispers back. He isn't very good at noticing when people are crushing on someone but he has seen female anime characters do the same when they run into the guy they end up with.

Lance looks back at her and sticks his tongue out playfully before walking away, which makes the poor girl notably more red. "So this paper is how you get a job here?" Lance asks while looking at it and struggling to read a bit of it.

"Yeah. You fill it out and then return it back to the aquarium. They'll ask for an interview then they will decide if they want to hire you or not."

Lance nods and blushes a little. "You will help?" He is clearly embarrassed that he can't read it himself.

"Of course. Do you want to fill it out before we go to the beach?" Keith asked as they walked to the car with the others in front of them.

"Let's fill it out first!" Lance grabs Keith happily then nuzzles him, waving once he sees the others. "Jobs give money right? So I could buy you things?"

"Yeah." Keith blushes at the thought of Lance buying him things. "I don't really need anything though. I have you after all," he whispers the last part as his blush darkens.

Lance's smile grows and he cuddles into Keith before being ushered into the car. "I know what you mean." He says quietly once they are in their seats. "I have nothing else I want besides you." He nuzzles Keith's neck then kisses it a few times. Keith smiles lovingly.

"Get a room," Pidge comments, causing Keith to glare at them.

"But we're in a car." Lance responds with a look of confusion. He holds the application back up and struggles to read more of it.

From the front seat, Matt had to stifle his laughter. "If we didn't know he was serious, Lance would win for smartass of the year sometimes." He quietly speaks to Shiro.

Shiro chuckles but doesn't look away from the road. "I think he should still get it anyways."

Keith laid his head on Lance's shoulder and helped whenever Lance couldn't figure out how to read a word. Lance tilts his head when he realizes there is a spot for more than one name. "I only have one human name?" Lance says curiously. "Humans have more names?"

"Most humans have two or three. A first name, middle name, and last name. Lance is your first name. Your last name is usually your whole family's last name," Keith informed Lance as he pointed to the different name spots.

Lance pouts. "But I only have one." Then he perks up. "Can I use yours?" He smiles brilliantly, oblivious to what it means to take someone's last name.

Keith freezes and his face goes completely red. It took him a second to be able to speak again. "Y-yeah," he shakily mumbles. He needs to remind himself that Lance doesn't understand but damn, it makes him so happy.

Lance smiles and nods. "I have a last name now!" He look a bit worried when he sees Keith so red. "Are you ok?" Carefully, he pushes back some of Keith's hair to see him better.

"I-it's just... Last... Y-yeah. I'm ok," Keith stutters and hides his face into Lance's neck the best he can.

Lance tilts his head, obviously still confused but runs his hands through Keith's hair. "It's just what?" He isn't sure what happened, but it's obviously affecting Keith so he wants to know.

Matt peeks at the two through his mirror and silently giggles while elbowing Shiro. He mouths, "oh my god. Too cute."

Shiro quickly glances at the rear view mirror and chuckles. Shiro decides to answer Lance's question. "Usually when someone not blood related takes someone else's last name, it means they are married. It shows off to everyone that they are together."

Lance listens carefully then nods but still looks a bit confused. "But everyone knows we're together already. And I wasn't planning on leaving just because I didn't have the same last name." He pouts, not entirely sure how a last name makes a difference.

"For humans... Marriage is a promise held by law," Shiro didn't really know how to explain this. "It's like a ceremony to show that you absolutely love each other and plan to live the rest of your life together." Shiro blushes when he starts thinking about himself and Matt.

Matt spies the blush and grabs his hand and smiles. "Promise." Matt says sweetly then pulls Shiro's hand to his lips and quickly kisses it. Shiro's blush darkens. To make matters worse, it daytime so anyone looking into their car can see how red he is.

Matt just laughs when Shiro turns brighter red. "You are so ridiculous." He chokes out through his laughter. "It's not like this should be any surprise. I've been head over heels for you since I _accidentally_ tripped and _accidentally_ spilled my lunch all over you." Remembering this only makes Matt laugh harder. Shiro exaggerates a pout as he turns onto their street

Lance smiles then nuzzles into Keith. "Well I like that then. I promise too ok?" He kisses Keith's neck. Sure the weight of his statement isn't really known to him, but Lance is honest.

Keith blushes more and nods. "Promise," Keith whispers," I love you, Nixie."

Lance's smile grows then he messes up Keith's hair and giggles. "Love you too." He whispers back before using his nose to get Keith to look up at him. Keith looks up, his face still red. Slowly he leans in for a kiss..

Lance happily returns the kiss and hums as he intertwines their fingers together. He could feel his heart racing and couldn't help but imagine his face is a bit red too.

Matt lets go of Shiro's hand when the pull into the driveway but he's still smirking. "Alright blushing lovebirds we're home." He almost sings.

Keith whines but doesn't pull away from the kiss. He grips Lance's hand tighter, hoping that Lance wouldn't pull away.

Lance can feel that Keith doesn't want him to pull away so he happily obliged. He pulls Keith closer, in fact, and deepens the kiss before trailing his other hand up to wrap around a handful of Keith's hair.

Keith hums softly into the kiss. He doesn't care about Pidge's disgusted expression or the fact that Shiro is waiting patiently to make sure Lance can get out easily.

Lance is, well, oblivious to everyone but Keith. He hums in response, ever in love with the feeling of Keith's hair around his fingers. His chest rises and falls a bit faster, as though trying to match the pace if his heart.

Keith licks Lance's lips but instead of asking for permission, he retreats his tongue back into his own mouth. He leaves his mouth slightly open for Lance.

Lance can't help but smile a little when Keith does that. He eagerly starts to lick the roof of Keith's mouth then moves his hand from Keith's hair to his shoulder and digs his nails in.

Keith moans as shiver run down his spine. He runs his tongue against the bottom of Lance's before starting to suck on it.

Lance hums and turns his attention to the seatbelt for a minute, moving it out of the way so he could get closer to Keith before pushing into Keith more.

Stepping back outside to see Shiro awkwardly waiting near the front door as if not sure how to react, Matt just grabs Shiro and pulls him away, not wanting to be outside anymore. "They'll figure it out and I'll pay if it needs to be cleaned, lets go."

Shiro's expression doesn't change unless they are in the house. "Are you sure we should leave them?" He's worried about someone seeing the young couple and about the car being unlocked.

"We can give them hell when they come in." Matt teases then slides behind Shiro to massage his shoulders. "The likelihood of someone walking by at this time is slim to none anyway." Matt says calmly as he rubs his shoulders.

Shiro sighs as he relaxes under Matt's touch. "Thank you."

"It's what I'm around for right?" Matt teases. "Relaxing dad when he's stressed?" He leans over Shiro's shoulder (with a bit of a struggle) to give him a silly grin before kissing his cheek.

Shiro chuckles. "This would be easier for you if I laid down." Shiro slowly took a step away and reached back to grab Matt's hand. He goes to their bedroom and lays stomach down on the bed.

Matt takes off Shiro's shirt first then starts to massage his back while taking a seat on his butt. "It's be easier if I wasn't short too." Matt adds with a playful pout but keeps working Shito's muscles. "Geez. Someone's super tense."

"It's been a while since you massaged me, plus the beginning of the aquarium was nerve racking," Shiro said,"I'm surprised that Keith was able to relax at all while we were there."

Matt nods. "Nerve racking yeah, but super awesome too." He sighs and massages more. "And I think Lance really helped to calm him down. Kid's just so carefree its almost contagious."

Shiro chuckles, remembering how Lance acted around the last few animals. "That is true."

"You know. I'm not sure I should call him a kid." Matt pauses his hands. "His turtle friend was...uh...quite old. Did you read the sign about him?"

Shiro frowns in thought. "I didn't, I was too busy looking around."

"Bro was noted as the oldest sea turtle in captivity at seventy three years old. Didn't even know they could live that long."

Shiro is silent for a bit before asking,"How... How old is Lance?"

Keith moans louder. "Y-your mouth," he says shakily and he thrust his hips. "T-touch me... A lot."

"I never asked?" Matt shrugs. "But the sea turtle was caught back when the aquarium opens thirty something years ago, said so on the board. Got tangled in a net and brought here."

"So he is older than 30," Shiro mumbled. He then laughed and said," He is older than us."

"Like I said, maybe not a kid." Matt laughs. "I wonder if Keith knows that."

"Probably hasn't thought about it."

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Keith wraps his arms around Lance and combs a hand into Lance's hair. He gently scrapes Lance's tongue with his teeth.

Lance moans a little then starts to push Keith over a bit, enjoying the closeness more than he realizes. Then he drags his nails down Keith's back and teasingly raises his eyebrow.

Keith's jaw drops a little as he moans. His back arched, pushing his chest closer to Lance.

Lance catches Keith's lower lip between his teeth when he moans then gives him a devious smile before releasing it. "So sexy." He hums happily.

Keith blushes and lets out a whiny moan. Lance is by far more sexy than Keith, especially with his smirk.

Lance moves in and pins Keith against the far side of the car before starting to kiss and bite at his neck again. Wanting to hear him moan again, Lance slides his hands under Keith's back and scratches hard.

Keith leans his head back and moans. His back arches again.

Lance groans and grinds his teeth together. "I want you." He whines at last before leaning down and biting the crook of his neck. "Can I...do anything for you?" Even after the first few times, Lance doesn't want to move forward without asking for fear of sparking Keith's panic.

Keith moans and gently pulls at Lance's hair until Lance lifted his head. "Do you want to be in me or take me in?"

Lance's eyes get glossy just thinking about it. "I...don't know. I like them both." He admits, cheeks turning a bit red before he kisses him then takes his hand and rubs it over Keith's bulge. "I just like pleasing you."

Keith moans. "Then... Do whatever you want." He gazes at Lance with half lidded eyes.

Lance just keeps rubbing Keith, almost taunting him into saying what he wants without forcing anything out of him. "I want to do what would make you...most pleased." Lance says sensually before leaning in and biting Keith's neck while still rubbing his palm against Keith.

Lance grins devilishly and crawls backwards down to Keith's waist. He pulls down Keith's pants and watches him pop out before running his tongue up his length. "With pleasure." He grins then starts to lick Keith's tip before moving one hand up to Keith's mouth and hooking his fingers on his teeth.

Keith muffled his moans by sucking on Lance's fingers. He whined and bucked his hip again.

Lance let's Keith suck on his fingers for a bit as he starts to take Keith into his mouth. He moves slow then fast, licks then sucks, an odd mix of pleasing and teasing.

Keith moans. His grip on Lance's hair tightens and pulls him closer.

Lance struggles against him pulling at his hair for a bit, wanting to drive Keith crazy so he can really hear all of his moans. He waits until he's positive Keith is about to snap then starts to take more and more of him in with each bob up and down.

Keith tilts his head back more, causing Lance's fingers to slip from his mouth. His moans become louder to the point someone near the car could great them.

As soon as Keith has let Lance's fingers go, Lance slides his hand down and carefully inserts them into Keith, he is in heaven listening to his boyfriend moan like this. Especially since the sound seems to fill the whole car.

Keith bucks his hips and it seems like he was sucking in Lance's fingers. Lance's name started to slip out in between moans as Keith gripped Lance's hair even tighter.

Lance feels himself growing almost uncomfortably hot. So he puts his passion into his motions, thrusting his arm while taking as much od Keith as he could while whining and moaning into Keith's dick knowing it would feel even better that way

Keith starts to shake. Lance is hitting his prostate and all of it together is overwhelming. "clos-aaahhhh~!" Keith starts to tighten around Lance's finger and his dick twitches. He is so close.

Lance shivers and his breaths heighten, especially when Keith starts to basically scream in pleasure. Lance looks up as best he can and is losing it. He takes Keith in as deep as he can and moves his hand just a little faster, hoping Keith might scream for him.

A gasps for breath, causing a moan to catch in Keith's throat. He then screams in pleasure. "Ahhhhh! C-cumming! Aaaaahhh~!" His whole body shakes as he cums hard.

Lance can feel when Keith comes as his heat shoots down his throat. He swallows and slows his hand to a stop, sucking as he pulls away, to make sure Keith is clean. When he pulls away, Lance pulls up Keith's clothes then watches as Keith catches his breath.

Keith is in a slight daze and he pants hard. He drops his hands to his side and he forces himself to keep his eyes open.

Lance has a sideways smirk on his face as he watches Keith try to gather his bearings. He leans in and kisses his forehead, trying to make sure Keith can still breathe.

Keith lets out a whine as he tilts his head back more. wanting a kiss on his lips. He lifts his arms up and wrap it around Lance's neck. They already took most of his energy so he couldn't really pull Lance towards him.

Lance chuckles and leans in to kiss him. "Silly Keith." Lance whispers before their lips meet. He kisses deeply then pulls away so Keith can breathe again. "Should we go in or go watch the sunset on the beach?"

"Thought..." Keith is still panting. "Fill paper." Watching the sunset with Lance sounds amazing but he wants to do what Lance wants to do first. He was so excited about it earlier.

"We can do it when we get home. I'd rather watch the sunset with you." He smiles then laughs a bit. "Once you catch your breath anyway.

Keith chuckles breathlessly. "Might be a while." Having some of his strength back, he hugs Lance closer. Making the former siren lay on top of him as they cuddle.

Lance cuddles into him and smiles. "I'm in no hurry." He admits as he snuggles into Keith's chest, listening to his heart beat faster. Keith nuzzles into Lance's hair, his eyes closed. Hopefully he won't fall asleep but this is really nice.

Lance giggles a bit when Keith nuzzles into him and starts to draw circles on his chest. "I never imagined being like this." He says quietly. "But...I wouldn't change a thing."

"Same here," Keith smiles. He yawns quietly but Lance probably felt it.

Sitting up to look down at Keith, Lance smiles. "You can't be tired yet! We haven't even watched the sun set!" He pouts a little, despite looking happy.

Keith chuckles. "I'm not that tired, I can stay awake." He nuzzles into Lance's hair again.

"Good." Lance curls up into Keith and hums. He slides down somewhat awkwardly beside Keith, trying to fit on the backseat with him. "Is there anything you want from me? Like...overall?"

Keith looks to the roof of the car and hums in thought. He doesn't really want anything more than what Lance already gives him but Lance probably wouldn't like that answer. Once he knows what he us going to say, he turns to Lance with a wide smile. "Be my Lance until the end of time."

Lance couldn't have looked happier if he tried. He just hums and kisses Keith's neck before hugging him tight. "That had already been my plan silly." He sings then props himself up on his arm, he peeks outside again and laughs. "If we stay here too much longer we will miss the sunset." Waving one hand, Lance laughs. "Not that I mind...just wanted to tell you I guess."

"We can go out," Keith says as he sits up. He waits for Lance to sit up before he opens the door and climbs out. He makes sure to lock the door too.

Lance follows behind Keith and quickly wraps his arms around his waist before burying his face in Keith's neck. "I wasn't trying to rush you." He whines, afraid he has bothered Keith with his pestering.

Keith rubs Lance's back. "It's okay. It's comfier to lay on the beach than it is in the car."

"True!" Lance perks up and wraps himself around Keith before realizing how disheveled he looks. With a big smile, Lance turns and fixes Keith's shirt and pants before trying to tame his hair a bit. "Ready then?"

Keith chuckles as Lances fixes his clothes for him. He purrs when Lance combs his hair. "Ready!" He grabs Lance's hand and runs to the beach.

Lance trails behind, trying to keep up as best he can. It's fun now that he's getting the hang of these legs. Laughing as he reaches the sand, Lance grabs Keith around his waist and drops and rolls into the sand, dragging Keith along with him.

Keith laughed as they rolled. Sand started to cling to his hair and clothes.

From the shore, a handful of eyes hear the laughter, but whispers of doubt still echo from them. "They just look like a couple of kids."

"I would never forgot the song of the beast," Zarkon growled.

"I've heard no song." Says one of the men.

"There has to be a way to prove this. I'm not going to kidnap some kid." Complains another.

"It is a small town though and I've never seen him around." One quietly adds.

"Then we'll wait until you get your proof." Zarkon knows by pattern that the kids will sing.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Lance stops when he's on top of Keith and nuzzles his nose into Keith's and laughs. "We're doing a horrible job of watching the sunset so far hm?" He asks playfully while looking into Keith's eyes.

Keith chuckles. "We're bad at doing a lot of things," he says, remembering their food fight.

Lance puts his forehead against Keith's and laughs. "That's...probably true." He puts his hand on Keith's cheek and smiles. "But I'm happy." Curling over to the side of Keith, Lance looks up to the sky for a minute before looking back to his boyfriend. "Nope. I like my night sky eyes better."

Keith blushes and smiles. He cuddles closer to Lance and hums. "Am I the sunset now?" Keith teased.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"How long do you think it will be?" One of the more impatient ones ask in a grumble.

"Be patient," Zarkon growled. "They know we are after the siren so they'll only sing when they think they are alone."

Lotor had shown up a bit after everyone else and, upon seeing the small crowd and hearing their disbelief, he decided to look to the beach then laughs. "That's the siren?" He laughs more. "It makes so much sense now!" Thinking for a second, Lotor nods. "That human, the dark haired one is definitely under a song. Hell, when he was at work he listened to it the whole time."

"Is that enough proof?" One mumbled.  
"Of course it is," an impatient one growled.  
"How do you know it was the siren's song?" The first one asked Lotor.

"Keith has never been one for smiling openly." Lotor says plainly. "He listened to something all day and smiled about it. And he basically ran back to that one." He points to Lance.

"Maybe he's just happy to have a boyfriend?" One is still a little unsure.

Lance smiles then leans in and kisses him. "You are." He sings sweetly. "I've seen the sunset thousands of times and it can't compare to you." Smiling more brilliantly, Lance sighs then nuzzles his nose against Keith's cheek.

Keith's blush darkens but is still smiling. "You're such a flirt," he mumbles, "Always saying such sweet things." He nuzzles Lance with a purr.

"I'm only speaking how I feel." Lance shakes his head. "You are my human and I am disgustingly lucky to have found you." He looks up a bit. "No, lucky you found me."

Keith chuckles,"Lucky to have a human who wanted to swim in piranha infested water." Even if Lance doesn't tease him about it, he won't let it go.

"You're just lucky there weren't piranhas!" Lance retorts quickly before nuzzling his neck. "But yes. I'm lucky to have a pretty - even if a bit reckless - human." Lance agrees before turning back to the darkening sky. "I'm pretty positive I could stay like this with you forever and I would be happy."

Two out of the six people present were still unsure. "Maybe he was just listening to a new song. My child has been listening to a song non-stop the past few days."

"Exactly." The other unsure one turns to the one who spoke last. "Maybe we would just be harming some new kid to town. He certainly doesn't _look_ like a siren."

"And everything else is just coincidence then? The past week there have been significantly less dead fish. Rumors of an odd human about town pop up and I hear the siren's song from that boy? It's all too convenient!" Zarkon says angrily. "I say we wait till darkness falls. They sang each night together, then we can take him. If we put him in my tank his true form will surely be revealed!"

The two unsure ones looked at each other. They can't really argue against Zarkon because they are waiting for solid evidence but it just feels wrong.

"Night will fall soon. Let us just wait. You'll see." Zarkon growls

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Keith cuddles closer, moving his head to lay on Lance's chest. "Then let's never move. Hunk and the others could bring us food and eat with us here," Keith half joked.

Lance laughs then starts to run his hands through Keith's hair. "Truth be told I might actually miss your bed." He says quietly while watching the stars slowly start to reveal themselves. "Its amazingly comfortable." His heart beating steadily as he runs his fingers through Keith's hair and hums quietly.

"It's one of the softest ones in the house," Keith says softly. The softest is Matt and Shiro's bed. "Hey Lance, have you ever worn jewelry? Like rings?" Keith asked, remembering the talk about marriage.

Everyone made sure they had their equipment ready. Rope, gag, knife. They can't take any risk, they don't know the physical strength of either of the two kids.

"Just this dumb bracelet." Lance lifts his arm and looms at the rope then sighs. "Could wear rings before and necklaces always managed to get stuck in my gils." He remembers the feeling and shivers. "Why do you ask?"

"Did he just say something Bout his gils!?" The unsure one, who had been given the job of simply holding back the human, asks suddenly. "Maybe you're right after all."

"Of course I'm right," Zarkon grumbled.

Keith gently runs his fingers over Lance's neck. "Some people wear jewelry for fun while others wear it because it means something to them," Keith mumbled. "I didn't know if you would like any."

"I'd wear it if it meant something to you." He hums at the feeling of Keith's fingers on his skin. "Especially since there's nothing for it to get stuck on anymore." He laughs a bit then holds his hand up, wiggling his fingers like he did when his hands were webbed. "I did enjoy the webbed hand holding though." He giggles as their hands meet.

"Ok, haven't we heard enough now?" One of the men is growing anxious. He had been given the gag and he wanted that siren gagged. The kid was talking about gils and webbed hands and Zarkon had been going on about him being the siren. He doesn't want to get stuck in a trance. "Can we please go gag him before they realize we're here?!"

"We need indisputable proof. Their talk could be some sort of script or joke," Lotor says.  
"You really think that talking about gills and webbed hands would be a joke?" The anxious one asked angrily. The others look to Zarkon for his decision.

Keith laughs as he wiggles his fingers with Lance. "Our special hand holding."

Lance smiles then slides his fingers between Keith's and smiles. "I liked it." He shrugs then pulls Keith's hand in to kiss it. "Though since it had to do with you, I think I'm biased." He hums then nuzzles into Keith's hair. "I love you my Keith."

Keith nuzzles into Lance's chest. "I love you too Lance. With all of my being." He looks up at Lance with the biggest smile yet.

"I say we go now. I know its him. All were doing is delaying the inevitable." Zarkon grabs one of his deboning knives - just in case he needs to defend himself - and looks to the others. "We aren't safe until we've captured him. Once he's in the tank we can decide from there what to do with the creature." He takes a deep breath. "We are agreed?"

Everyone nods, some more hesitant than others. They all clench whatever they are holding tighter.

Lance rolls onto his side to cuddle into Keith, oblivious to the shadows moving closer to them. He stares mindlessly into Keith's eyes with a smile until he feels hands on his arms. His eyes jolt open as he is ripped off the ground in what feels like one lightning quick motion. Reaching out, Lance panics and holds an hand out for Keith.

"Ke-" but the word is muffled as the man holding the gag takes that as his chance to get the gag in place. He struggles against the person holding him to no avail.

"Get him to the tank!" Zarkon commands.

"Lance!" Their fingertips touch before Keith is pushed back. Two men stand with knives in front of him. If only he had brought one of his own. "Leave him alone!" He yelled as he charged. He doesn't show it but he is panicking. How did anyone find out about Lance?!  
He is putting up one hell of a fight despite not having a weapon of his own. Once he manages to knock the knife out of one if their hands, he quickly grabs it.

Lance watches Keith fighting and - despite his nerves - is in awe of Keith's fight. He pulls against the man, watching as they come up to the small fishing home near the lake. Trying to scream - to call for Keith...anything - Lance realizes all the sounds merely become muffled sounds in his throat.

"He keeps trying to say something." The one who had never been fully convinced sounds worried.

"Of course he does!" The larger man carrying Lance says, watching as the three men struggle to keep Keith back. "He's a siren! He's trying to charm us!"

Zarkon finally decides to join in the fight. Having more fighting experience, he is a lot harder to deal with than the other two. Keith slowly gains more and more shallow cuts. "Give him back!" Keith screamed as he clashed with Zarkon.

"We must free this town of that monster." Zarkon makes a deep cut across Keith's side.  
"He's not a siren anymore!"

"He's tricking you. You're under a song." Another deep cup, this time on Keith's upper right arm.

"No I'm not!" Keith is disarmed and tackled to the ground.

Lance's eyes go wide and he tries to scream for Keith, struggling to get to Keith when he sees blood. However, his body isn't as strong as it once was. He claws at the man's arms and pulls against him but just can't get free. Then, before he's aware what's happening, Lance is dropped into a tank. Instantly, he is panicking. He doesn't know how to swim with these legs and he doesn't have gils. His vision is strange underwater as a human, but he tries to look out at Keith, still _trying_ to get to him _somehow._

"He really is a siren!" Having heard Keith say _anymore_ seems to get the last of the doubt from the inside one's mind. They watch Lance in the tank in confusion. "Then why isn't he changing back?"

Keith looks up and goes wide eyes when he sees Lance in the tank. "Lance!" he screams. He quickly kicks off the guy on him and looks back at Lance. His expression now shows his panic and worry. Quickly getting up, he runs towards Lance.

Zarkon chases Keith. He grabs the boy's shoulder and shoves him to the ground. "It doesn't matter if he once was or still he. He needs to die." He is getting irritated by the boy's struggling so he stabs his dagger into Keith's arm. Keith screams in pain but he doesn't stop struggling. He needs to save Lance.

"A-are you sure we need to use so much force?" the one still with a knife asks as he walks up behind Zarkon.

"If he refuses to back down, then he deserves this." Zarkon grabs the knife the man and stabs it into Keith's left calf, causing Keith let let out another scream. Keith looks up at Lance with tears in his eyes. His body quivers with pain, sadness, and anger.

"You said take down the beast! You said nothing about harming a human! Enough!" They pull him away from Keith suddenly.

Lance is crying in the water. His chest hurts. But seeing Keith being hurt because of him is worse. He shouts as best he can with the gag. Just as his vision starts to blacken, Lance takes a deep breath and the two outside the cage call for Zarkon.

"You were right! He's changing back!" One shouts to the man battling the human. Another darts over to him, seeing the bloodied human.

In the tank, Lance watches as the bracelet from Allura slowly dissolves and his old form returns. As happy as it might have made him days before, Lance is now horrified. He swims up to the top of the tank and grabs onto the ledge. _if I try hard enough I'll make it out but what then?_ Lance is panicking quite visibly now.

Lotor quickly pulls out his father's phone and snaps a picture of Lance before sending it out to everyone along with the text, 'Secrets can be deadly.'

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Shiro and Matt's phone bing at the same time. Shiro is the first to grab his phone and see that he got a text from Zarkon. With curiosity, he opens the message but what he sees makes him drop his phone to the floor. Lance gagged and in a fisher tank with a fallen bloody Keith in the background.

Pidge's phone also goes off. They groan as they check it, thinking it's from either Matt or Keith. It takes them a second to process the image sent before jumping up from their seat and running to Keith's room. They throw open the knife drawer and grabs whatever was on top. Which so happens to be the rainbow knife.

Matt sees the image and, knowing Shiro's panic, he grabs the keys and drags him to his feet. He sees Pidge and nods. "Let's go. Now." He drags Shiro to the car and hops in the driver's seat. "Come on Takashi. Breathe. Lets go."

Shiro gets seated in the passenger seat and tries to regulate his breathing. He takes shaky deep breathes. No one bothers to buckle as they take off for the beach.

Matt floors it. He couldn't care less if they are breaking the speed limit. It's not far, but Keith was already bloody and there's no telling how long they have had them. Dammit, he shouldn't have let them stay in the car.

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Lance shakes his head. He doesn't care what happens to him. Keith doesn't deserve this. Using the strength of his tail with the adrenaline of seeing Keith on the ground, Lance flings himself from the tank. As a siren, crying wasn't the same as a human. Tears don't exactly form the same, but it hurts go watch his human be hurt because of him. He has to get to Keith. _He has to protect him!_

The humans around Keith were too busy arguing about injuring an actual human that they didn't notice Keith crawling towards lance. Finding himself too slow with the constant pain from the knives still being in him, he bites down on his lower lip and he yanks them out. Keith pushes himself to crawl faster now that his movements aren't restricted, leaving a very bloody trail behind him. His vision is blurry with tears but he swears he sees Lance jump. Lance can't be out of water in his siren form, why would he jump out?

Lance uses both his arms and his tail to get to Keith. It hurts to drag his fins across the ground like this, but if he can wrap himself around Keith, at least maybe he can stop them from doing more damage to Keith.

"Zarkon!" One of the men shouts once the shock of seeing the siren jump from the water wears off. He watches as Lance finally reaches Keith and quickly wraps himself around Keith. His hands are shaking as he attempts to push against the wounds. His eyes look into Keith's trying to apologize without words.

"Lance," Keith says softly as he cups Lance's cheek. The gag is in the way but he can't really lift his arm any higher to take it off.

Zarkon turns around and glares at the sight of the siren wrapped around the bleeding child.  
"I'm sorry. I'll be okay but..." Keith is starting to get light headed from the loss of blood. "You need to get water."

"He will not!" Zarkon stomps over. He grabs Lance by the armpit and tries to separate the two.

Lance shakes his head. He looks over Keith and touches one of the stab wounds, pressing into it to slow the bleeding. Seeing the distant look in Keith's eyes, he starts whining, hoping Keith will understand that he's worried. His ears are drooping and his tail is already aching from lack of water but he won't let go.

When Zarkon grabs him, Lance can fight back this time, his body is back to the strong siren form he grew up with so he uses one arm to grab Zarkon and slam him to the ground, releasing an angry hiss as he does. When the other humans seem leery to attack, Lance just curls himself around Keith and whines again.

"He-he's protecting the human." One of the original doubters can't help but point out the obvious scene before them.

"Lance... You need water." Keith's voice is getting weaker and weaker.

Lance shakes his head again. His whine turns to a quiet sob, he can hear Keith's heart struggling to pump. It hurts more than his lack of water. No knowing what else he can do, Lance starts to hum. If he can at least make Keith feel better, maybe it won't be so bad. Hoping his feelings show through the sound, Lance tries to say how much he loves him, afraid this might be goodbye already.

"We-we need to call for help." Says the one who has stopped to realize the siren isn't trying to fight them. "The human's going to die if we don't get help. Someone call an ambulance!".

One of the ones closer to the house runs for a phone.

Keith smiles weakly at Lance. "I love you... Lance."

Matt stops the car as close as he can to the small crowd and climbs out, not even bothering to turn off the car.

"Keith!" Shiro screams as he rushed to their side.

The uncertain humans start to panic and drop their weapon. "What have we done?"

Lance's song falters when Keith speaks. If something should have been written about sirens, it was that the song of heartbreak was most devastating of all. Even if it didn't charm anyone, the pain resonated in everyone's bones. All Lance wants to do is respond. But he can't. And he doesn't dare move his hands away from the wounds, so he just presses his forehead against Keith's and his ears droop low.

When he hears Shiro, lance feels his heart breaks even more. He hadn't protected Keith. And now Shiro can see that too. Barely looking away from Keith, Lance glances to Shiro and his eyes are full of sorrow and guilt. _this is all my fault._ is all Lance can repeat in his head.

"L-Lance," Shiro stutters," Are you okay?"

"We need to get him in the water!" Pidge yells. Keith whines at the loud noise. He can feel himself draining away.

"Keith! Lance!" Everyone looks behind them to see Hunk running with a first aid kit.

Lance just keeps humming, but looks to Shiro with his ears down before turning back to Keith and hugging him tighter. His tail feels odd and his gils have all but stopped moving but he still felt better than Keith looks. When he looks down at his tail, Lance swears it looks purple with the amount of blood spilling over it.

He had nearly forgotten about Hunk when the big human runs up. Lance looks at the human then motions to the cut on Keith's side. It was the worst so if they were going to try to save him, they should start there. Despite this, Lance doesn't let go. He runs his hand through Keith's hair and keeps his forehead against his.

The uncertain human that had made the others realize what was happening now wants to help. This was wrong. All of this was wrong. They walk up with the other who had been leery and offer assistance to the ones who seem to know the siren. "C-can we help somehow?"

Matt has his hand on Shiro's shoulder and helps him out of the way when Hunk moves to start fixing Keith up. The reality of what is happening hasn't yet sat in with him yet.

In the distance, you can hear the siren of a ambulance. "Help me patch up his wounds," Hunk says, leaving the first aid kit open for them. He starts the treat the cut on Keith's side.

"Nixie." Keith's voice is incredibly weak. He looks into Lance's eyes the best he can. His heart beat is dangerously slow and his eyes were already half way closed. "Thank you."


	19. Chapter 19

The others help and start to patch the wounds they can reach. Even though Lance hasn't exactly proven himself dangerous, they fear going near his face.

Lance shakes his head and feels his throat tighten up. He can hear his heartbeat slowing and Lance hates that there isn't more he can do. Clenching his teeth hard against the gag, Lance hums his quiet lullabye and his eyes start to leak. The noise leaving his throat isn't so much a song when Keith's final words exit his lips. With ears low, Lance looks up at Hunk and whines. He can hear it. Keith's heart has stopped and though he can't say it, the look on his face says it all. He holds Keith tighter and wraps into him, sobbing the heartbreaking melody as the ambulance arrives and the emts hurry over. One is clearly taken aback by the siren but the other just starts barking demands trying to save Keith.

"There is no pulse. We need defibrillators now!" The one clearly in control calls and his partner starts up the hand held machine and preps the paddles. "How long has he been like this?" He asks the nearest human, who just so happens to be Hunk before looking to the sand and whispering. "He has lost a lot of blood."

"I-I don't know. H-he's probably been bleeding for a while but his heart just stopped," Hunk answered.

Shiro hid his face in Matt's neck as he failed at holding back his tears. Matt feels his breath growing short and sneakily runs his hand through Shiro's hair.

"Lance! You need to get in the lake!" Pidge yelled, trying to get Lance to let go of Keith. It hurt them to know that Keith is practically dead at this point but if they can prevent another dead, they will.

The emt looks at Lance and nods then takes Keith from him with a look that says "I'll do all I can" then tries to get his heart going again.

Lance looks at Pidge then back to the lake and just sits sadly before shaking his head and whining. He watches the emt work, listening closely to hope that he will hear Keith's heart start again. He won't go back to being lonely in that lake. Plus, even if he wanted to, he isn't sure he'd make it that far on his own. Plus this stupid gag would assure he would die.

"Come on Lance!" Pidge's eyes started to water. "Keith wouldn't want you to do this!" They didn't want to grab Lance, just in case he was injured somewhere. Instead, they pulled out Keith's rainbow knife and carefully cut off the gag.

Hunk moved next to Pidge and says softly," Lance... Buddy... Keith wouldn't want you to die. _We_ don't want you to die."

"It's not fair," Shiro cried, "They were finally happy!" He grips onto Matt's shirt tightly.

"I know. I know." Is all Matt can say in response.

Lance watches everyone and swallows hard. When Pidge cuts the gag, Lance watches as the other humans seem to jump back. He watches Keith, hearing the lack of motion inside of him, Lance cries painfully.

"Keith wouldn't want to be dead and this is my fault!" He wails before painfully starting toward the lake. "Its my fault he's dead." Lance repeats before sliding into the water just enough to breathe again.

Pidge followed Lance, not caring that they still had their shoes on. "It's not your fault. He'd rather be dead than you," they say.

"Speaking of whose fault it is..." Hunk trails off. He is standing close by but not in the water. "Should we have him arrested?" He glaces in Zarkon's direction.

"I'd rather neither of us be dead." Lance's whole body slumps down. He doesn't even go far enough into the water to swim. Just enough to be somewhat covered. "And it is my fault. They wanted me dead and he protected me." His voice cracks as he speaks. Listening to Hunk, Lance sighs. "He did murder someone."

The emts finally put the sheet over Keith and Lance wails, realizing what that means. He covers his head with his hands and cries while repeating, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. This never should have happened. I'm so sorry."

The crowd who had caused this doesn't let Zarkon go. They all look to Keith and then Lance and most of them whisper about how things obviously weren't how rumor had it.

"But he is a monster! We shouldn't let him free." Zarkon says, determined.

"Obviously he isn't! He was trying to keep the _child you just killed_ alive!" yelled the one who had pulled Zarkon away from Keith.

"Why would you even injure him so much?! You could have just pinned him down!" Another one yelled.

Hunk got on his knees and hugged Lance. "It's not your fault. Nothing is your fault."

Lance grips onto Hunk and sobs but shakes his head. "I should have stayed away. I never should have...should have lured him to me." He looks up to Shiro. "I'm so sorry Shiro."

Allura shows up only seconds later and kneels down at the edge of the water. "You made quite the connection." She says quietly. "A shame you let him die, hm?" Standing up, Allura looks to the scene then crosses her arms. "If we can all agree, I may still be able to save that boy."

Shiro turns to look at Lance. He opens his mouth to tell the siren that it isn't his fault but the appearance of the sea witch changes his words. "W-what... What do you mean?" he asks weakly.

Allura walks over to Keith. "It hasn't been long right?" She looks back to Lance. "You know in order to-"

"I don't care what the sacrifice is, so long as we can be together." Lance doesn't even let her finish.

Allura sighs. "As you are now, you are immortal. I can grant you human form on use your remaining life force as a siren to bring him back. But it will be permanent. You will be human. For good."

Lance nods. "But he will be alive. And well?" He looks back to Shiro. "Is- I can do that?"

Shiro is shocked that Lance would look to him. "It's..." He does want Keith back but the price is Lance's immortality. It's not really his to give up. "It's up to you."

Around them, all humans stared at Allura in shock. Who and what is she? Just how many supernatural creatures are there?!

"Then yes." Lance looks to Allura and nods. "Do it. Bring him back." He lifts himself up to watch as Allura sighs and bows her head.

With that, Allura touches Keith then walks over to Lance and touches him. He screams then grabs his chest, writhing in pain. Looking to the other humans, Allura bows then watches as Keith takes a breath before vanishing again.

The humans are all obviously baffled but watch as Keith struggles to remove the blanket as he gasps for hair while Lance is still writhing in pain as his human for returns, this time clearly causing more pain than last.

An emt helps pull the blanket off Keith, who rolls over and gasps for breath. Everything is blurry, as if he is in a dream. He tries so get up but flinches. His wounds are still there, just no longer life threatening. "Lan... Lance," he calls between pants. He feels so tired and weak.

Lance can see that Keith is moving but his body hurts. He tries to speak but can't yet. Instead, he tries to drag himself out of the water. "Keith." He finally chokes out. "It worked...you're...alive." Struggling to stand, Lance shakily makes his way back.

Keith's vision start to clear up. "What worked? Do... How do you have legs again?" Huge sign that Allura did something. He slowly starts to connect the dots on his own.

Lance finally collapses beside Keith and smiles. "You're alive." he grabs Keith with shaky arms and kisses his neck. "You...had died. But...you're alive. And now...we can grow old together." His voice is still shaky and his body is oddly achy, but Lance is obviously happy.

"B-but... How?" He wraps his arms around Lance and hugs tight. He is happy but his worry and confusion show more.

"I'm human." Lance says quietly. "Like...for good." He hugs Keith close. "And in doing so, my immortality gave you life again." Looking down to Keith's wounds,Lance swallows hard. "Allura magic. Give a little to get a lot. But you're back."

"You gave... Me life?" Keith asked slowly. "Nixie... You're like.. My hero." His worried frown turned into a giant smile as he nuzzles into Lance.

Lance laughs tiredly. "Says the human who died trying to help me in the first place." He cuddles into Keith before being handed a towel by one of the still baffled emts. So out of it from everything, Lance hadn't even realized he was shivering. "How are you feeling?" Lance moves some of the tone cloth to check on Keith's wounds.

They are have stopped bleeding but the bandages are completely drenched in blood. They are definitely going to be scars. "It still hurts a little. I think it's just sore but other than that... I'm tired. Did they injure you at all?"

Lance shakes his head and hugs Keith again. "I'm fine." He buries himself in Keith's hair and can't hold back all his sobs. "I saved you. Thank god." He tightens his grip. "I will never let you go."

Keith smiles. "I'm sorry I made you worry." He rubs Lance's back. "At least." He looks around at all the humans standing around them. "They don't think you're a monster anymore."

Lance just laughs a bit. "I'm just glad to have you back." He admits quietly the. Pulls back to look at him. "Are you sure you are ok? Should you go with these guys or come home?"

"I..." He looks at the stab wound on his arm. It's loosely bandaged but the blood has stopped spreading, meaning it's done bleeding. Allura probably healed him enough to not bleed to death again. "I think I'm okay enough to go home."

Lance carefully hugs him, body still shaking from the overwhelming amount of emotions. "I'm so glad you're okay." He can't help but cry a little. "I'm so sorry it happened."

Keith rubs Lance's back more while humming softly. "Don't be sorry, cause now our forever is even longer."

Lance grips him a bit tighter and nods. "I know...I just..." He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I never want to see you hurt like that again."

The other humans explain what happened as the police show up and Zarkon is taken into custody. Trying to keep them from both Lance and Keith as long as possible, they all attempt to explain away why Zarkon went after the now human boy. As well as why Lance is wearing nothing. As well as how most of Keith's wounds are now healed despite the blood being fresh. Needless to say, it wasn't going well and the officers were quite baffled.

Matt had pulled a pair of pj pants that had somehow made it to the trunk of the car and hands them to Lance who struggles to put them on.

Keith nuzzles Lance. "Do you think you can walk or is your legs like new again?" He makes a mental note to shower when they get home, Lance probably has sand all over him.

Lance smiles. "I...I can walk." He stands up, a bit shaky but able to stand regardless. Holding his hand out, Lance grabs Keith's hand. "How about you?"

Keith granbs Lance's hand and starts to stand up but flinches when he moves his injured leg. "I might... Need help." He smiles sheepishly.

Lance kneels down and motions for Keith to climb up. "It isn't far. I can manage." He then scoops him up and leads him toward the car. "Never scare me like that again." He begs quietly as he holds him closer. Matt had started to heard everyone else to the car and Hunk had decided to help keep Lance standing as the ex siren isn't as steady on his feet as he's like to act.

When Lance gets up, he clings on a little tighter. "I'll try my best," he whispers. Before they could get into the car, Shiro ran up and hugged the two.

"I'm so glad you guys are alive!"

Lance looks to Shiro with a small smile and nods. "Me too." He admits with a nervous laugh. Nuzzling into Keith, Lance hopes his feelings stay under control. "I'm sorry for all of this...that I couldn't do more." He adds quietly before meeting Shiro's eyes again.

"It's okay. None of us blame you," Shiro says softly. "If anything, we're sorry that we weren't able to keep you safe." He releases the two and steps back, giving them space.

Lance smiles weakly and cuddles into Keith before helping him into the car. Once Keith is seated, Lance bows his head and takes a deep breath. "You...all don't mind if I stay with you...right? " He seems nervous about it as though him being permanently human changes things.

Shiro seats in the passenger seat and looks back at Lance. "You're Keith's boyfriend or... What was it...? Courted pair? Either way, of course we don't mind you staying."

Lance cuddles into Keith, more tired than he would like to admit from the chaotic night. "I will make Keith happy." He hums quietly once rested against Keith's head. "And I will...do my best...to be better." His voice becomes more tired as he speaks and his eyelids grow heavy.

Keith carefully slides an arms behind Lance so he could combs through Lance's hair, helping the now fully human to fall asleep. His cheeks are slightly red from Lance's sleepy declaration.

Lance hums happily then snuggles in closer before tiredly mumbling, "Love you Keith," and kissing his neck. Within minutes, he is asleep and is still gripping Keith's sleeve, afraid he might leave again.

"You sure you're alright?" Matt asks once Lance is asleep. "That was - ah, quite the scene, you know?"

"Yeah. Might be awhile before I can really do anything on my own though." Luckily Lance is on his left. The stab in his arm is on the lower half of his right arm.

"Well, at least I'm fairly certain Lance wouldn't let you anyway." Matt looks back at him and grin a little before loudly exhaling. "I seriously didn't know...what we were going to do there." He grab's Shiro's hand and swallows hard. "No doubt in my mind though that he will do anything for you now though!" Trying to make the best of the situation, Matt smiles back at him.

Keith chuckles softly. He can imagine Lance trying to do everything he can to let him rest. With closed eyes, Keith nuzzles into Lance. "What would I do without you?" He whispers.

Lance cuddles closer when Keith nuzzles him and he almost opens his eyes, but he's too tired. Humming a bit in his sleep, Lance wraps himself closer to Keith and grins.

Keith smiles and whispers," I love you too Lance."

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

"Should we wake them up or just carry them?" Shiro asks softly once they arrive home. Keith had fallen asleep a few blocks down. He was just resurrected so that probably takes a lot of energy.

Matt looks back at them and smiles. "Well, we are the dads right?" He hands Pidge the keys and slides over to grab Lance. "You get Keith." Then he carefully carries Lance into he and Keith's room and lays him down, only laughing a little when Lance curled up into him on the way.

Keith whines softly when he is pulled away from Lance. Shiro just shushes him like you would to a baby. When Keith is placed next to Lance, he immediately grabs onto Lance and cuddles closer.

The two cling to each other all night and hardly move. Both Matt and Shiro would know, they check on them multiple times throughout the night. They actually fall asleep in the living room, too exhausted from checking up on them to make it to their room.

When the sun spills through the window, Lance jolts awake. His heart jumps in his chest, worried about Keith. Only once he can see that Keith's color is good and he's breathing fine can he get his heart to relax again.

Keith slowly wake up. He tries to sit up but flinches when he puts his weight on his right arm.

Lance sees this and instantly helps Keith sit up, looking worried all over again. "Should I help you clean it? Or-or wrap it with fresh bandages? Or I could find you medicine." He runs his hand through Keith's hair, hoping it will help him to feel a bit better.

Keith leans towards Lance's hand as it soothes his pain away. "It's okay. It's not that bad," he tries to ease Lance's worry. "Doing all three would probably be the best choice. I can hop to the bathroom if you hold my hand."

Lance shakes his head. "I'll carry you." He pouts, not wanting Keith to hurt himself more just trying to be independent. "But I will help do all three." Leaning in and giving Keith a kiss, Lance can't hide his worry, even despite Keith's words. Moving the blanket, Lance looks Keith over, making sure there aren't wounds that opened throughout the night before sliding his hands under Keith. As he looks him over, the look goes from worried to a mixture of worry and guilt. No matter what everyone says, Lance can't help but feel it's his fault.

Keith wraps his arms around Lance's neck. "Hey," he says softly, noticing Lance's change in expression," It's okay. It's all because of that fisherman guy, anyone else and this wouldn't have happened." He rubs his cheek against Lance's, hoping it would help his words get through.

Lance pouts but returns the nuzzle. "I just hate that you were hurt be-because of me." He looks up at Keith and feels his eyes start to water a bit but shakes his head. "I was just...it was...watching you..." Swallowing hard, Lance pushes his forehead against Keith's with a sigh. "I love you."

"I love you too." He wants to apologize for not being able to save Lance from practically drowning in the tank and for not being strong enough to fight off the fisherman but he knows it won't help. "At least we have proof that nothing can separate us," he smirks.

Lance can't help but smile at that. He looks into Keith's eyes and laughs, somehow feeling a bit relieved by seeing a smirk on Keith's face. "True." Leaning in to gently kiss Keith again, Lance twirls his finger in Keith's hair and sighs. "But now you're seriously stuck with me. I can't go back now, even if you get tired of me." He says teasingly.

Keith chuckles. "Good cause I would never get tired of you. If anything, I would lock us up in the room so that it would just be us forever."

Lance looks at Keith with a crooked smile, happier by the second. He finally picks him up and carries him to the bathroom, sitting him down on the closed toilet before biting his lower lip and taking a deep breath. "I've never been very good at dressing wounds but I will do my best, ok?"

"Okay. Since these are kinda... Deeper than usual wounds, I'll tell you the first few steps." Keith uses his left arm to point to where the first aid stuff is. "In there is the cleaning wipes, medicine, and bandages."

Lance grabs the kit and pulls several items out. He knows what the medicine and bandages looks like - somehow - and, after a few seconds figures how which other pack is the cleaning wipes. "I'm sorry again." He murmurs as he kneels beside Keith and swallows hard. "I'm guessing first step is clean them? Which one do you want me to start with?"

Keith lifts up his right arm slowly. It doesn't hurt so much when he uses his upper arm muscles only. "This one since it's easier to access. We should probably take off my shirt first though."

Lance shakes his head. "Right." He is clearly a bit nervous, but trying to stay calm so he can help with steady hands. "I'll do my best to avoid hurting you." His hands work the shirt up and over the wound on Keith's side before even attempting to get it over his arms. "Doing ok?"

"Yup." He doesn't mention that cleaning the wounds is going to hurt him a lot. Keith feels butterflies in his stomach from how gentle Lance is while he tries to avoid letting the cloth touch Keith's stab wound.

Lance takes a deep breath then helps Keith get the shirt over his arms then finally over his head, making sure to fix his hair with a smile once it's off. "So your arm first?" He bites his lip, eyes watering a bit as he looks him over again. Bowing his head, Lance literally cannot stop feeling guilty that Keith is like this.

Using his left arm, he makes Lance look back up at him. "My Nixie..." he mumbles with a sad expression, "I don't blame you in the slightest so please don't blame yourself."

Lance pouts when he looks up. "But you got hurt fighting _for me._ How can I not feel bad looking at you like this?" He finally meets Keith's gaze and tries to smile a bit. "It's not fair. I wish I could just take your pain for you. I'd feel a lot better that way." Taking a loud breath, Lance grabs one of the wipes. "Ready?"

"These show how much I love you. Yours," Keith trails his hand down to Lance's leg. "Is right here." He leans forward to give Lance a quick kiss. "Now I'm ready."

Lance pouts again but it looks more playful this time. "I was going to keep these for you before all this." After humming into the kiss, Lance carefully takes Keith's hand before starting to clean around the wound, making sure there isn't anything that might get in the cut before actually wiping over the open spot.

Keith bites down on his lower lip to keep himself from groaning in pain. He does his best not to show how badly it stings. Luckily for him, he only had two stab wounds and the two slash ones aren't so bad.

Lance looks up to see his look and pouts but knows he has to do this to make sure Keith heals properly. "Squeeze my hand love." He speaks quietly. "At least while I clean them, ok?" With a deep breath, he finishes cleaning the first one then starts to wrap it before moving to the next stab wound, wanting to get the worst ones out of the way.

"Wait Lance," Keith says, stopping Lance as he starts to wrap over the actual wound. "Put the medicine on the bandage that will be over the wound," he instructed. When Lance did as told and continued to wrap the bandage, Keith squeezed Lance's hand tight. The medicine stings. Keith lets out a shaky exhale when Lance starts to clean the second wound. The leg stab wound is a little worse than his arm. He squeezes Lance's hand tighter to keep himself from whimpering in pain.

Lance looks up at him and kisses Keith's hand as he cleans his leg. "I'm sorry Keith. I don't mean to hurt you. I'm almost done." He kisses Keith's cheek before he preps the bandage and wraps it. "Want me to give you a minute before doing the rest?" There would be no hiding his concern, even if the room was pitch black, it's basically visible in his voice.

Keith shakes his head. "Better to do it all at once." It's like tearing off a bandage, faster is better. "I'll be okay."

Lance pouts but doesn't argue. As quickly and carefully as he can, Lance cleans the remaining wounds, bandaging them up with gentle hands before finally looking up at Keith with big, worried eyes. "You alright? Can-can I do anything else?" He runs his hand through Keith's hair, carefully avoiding any wounds as he cuddles close and kisses his cheek.

He leans forward to rest his forehead on Lance's shoulder. "I'm okay. Just a bit weak." Everything stings but it's not horrible, the wounds just need to get used to the medicine.

Lance runs his fingers through Keith's hair before putting away the unused parts of the kit and turning back to Keith, carrying him back into the room so he can be more comfortable. As gently as he is able, Lance lays Keith onto the bed then joins him laying beside Keith's better side and running his fingers through Keith's hair before kissing him again. "I love you so much."

"I love you so much too." He purrs as Lance combs through his hair again. Keith's stomach growls but not loud enough for Lance to hear. He doesn't want to move right now so he doesn't say anything. "Are you sure you're uninjured? No bruises or anything?"

Lance looks himself over then shrugs. "Nothing too bad." He motions toward some bruises on his arms and a nasty one on his hip from when he jumped from the tank. "I'm sure they won't last long anyway." He sighs as he relaxes a bit, fingers still going through Keith's hair.

"Do you want to put ice on it?" He slowly moves his right hand to rest on Lance's waist, just above the bruise.

Lance shakes his head and smiles. "It will be fine. Seriously." He trails his eyes down to Keith's hand then places his fingers on it. "I just want to take care of you." Pouting even though he doesn't really mean to, Lance looks Keith over again.

"You're doing an amazing job." He laces his fingers with Lance's. Keith leans closer and kisses Lance gently.

Lance melts into the kiss and shivers before humming. Once he pulls away, Lance smiles. "I'm trying really hard. It's the least I can do."

Keith cuddles closer. He doesn't know what to say so he just closes his eyes and nuzzles into Lance's chest. Lance hums then starts to sing for Keith once he's on his chest. After the song ends, Lance sighs. "Should I get us food? I'm a bit hungry."

Keith nods. "Do you want to eat here or out there?"

Lance sits up and looks at Keith seriously. "Here. I don't want you to have to move." He runs his hand gently through Keith's hair. "What do you want karmele?"

Keith smiles. "Cereal." He didn't to make Lance actually cook without any help, plus he knows Lance would gladly eat the sugary ones again.

Lance nods then leans down and kisses Keith before hurrying out of the room. He reaches the kitchen and quickly starts to gather bowls, spoons and cereal. Filling the bowls then grabbing the milk before taking a second to breathe, Lance looks around and smiles. He saved Keith. Now they can be together and not have to worry again.

Keith nuzzles into the pillow and notices Bora and Chomp still on the bed. He slowly grabs the two stuff animals and hugs them close. He'll definitely get more gifts for his hero.

After pouring the milk, Lance carefully walks them back to the room and sees Keith cuddling their stuffed animals and his smile grows. "Keeping Bora and Chomp warm?" He sings.

Keith looks up at Lance and nods. He then nuzzles into Bora's stomach and mumbles,"We are so cold without you."

He gives a sideways grin and puts the food on the table closest to the bed. "I'm not that warm either you know." Lance teases before cuddling close to them all. Careful not to hit any of the wounds, Lance wraps himself around Keith. "You're far more warm than me." He kisses Keith's neck and hums, loving the closeness.

"But I need your warmth," he says and cuddles closer, slightly squishing the two stuff animals in between them.

"Well I'm not going anywhere." Lance whispers. "I'm here for you forever." He kisses Keith's cheek and smiles. "Want me to feed you?"

Keith blushes slightly. "Would it be selfish if I said yes?" Keith asks shyly. He is slightly ambidextrous but it feels nice to be pampered.

Lance smiles and kisses Keith's forehead. "Not if I said I wanted to feed you." He grabs a bowl and offers Keith a bite before taking one himself.

Keith slowly sits up before eating the spoonful. Lance feeds Keith, taking bites in between his. Once the first bowl is empty, Lance grabs the other. "Still hungry right, love?"

"A little," he smiles sheepishly, as if embarrassed that he is.

Lance scoops another bite toward him then steals it last minute before laughing and giving him a real bite this time. "Me too." He laughs once his mouth is empty.

Keith pouts when Lance steals his bite. He keeps pouting while he eats the second spoonful.

Lance leans in once Keith is done with the second bite and kisses him, putting a hand behind Keith's hair while making sure to keep the bowl upright. He licks Keith's lips once then pulls back to smile at him. "No more pouting."

Keith blushes and stops pouting. He looks down at the stuff animals on his lap and starts fiddling with them. Keith pouts again as he glances back up at Lance, not moving his head.

Lance had turned to take a bite of the cereal and when he looks back sees Keith pouting again and gives him a playful glare. "I said," he leans in and kisses Keith's nose, "no more pouting."

Keith's blush darkens. He wants to pout more, to get more kisses but he can't hold back his smile. He giggles softly as he fails at trying to pout again.

Lance smiles then leans in and kisses him better this time. "Like that. Thanks." He teases by giving him an eskimo kiss before offering another bite.

Keith can't stop smiling, even as he eats. With his left hand, he carefully take the spoon and feeds Lance.

Lance grins and happily accepts being fed by Keith. Once the food is gone, he puts the bowl back on the table and runs his fingers along Keith's hairline. "I'm so happy you're back. I don't know what I would have done without you."

He smiles lovingly at Lance then realisation hits him. "What did happen while I was dead?" He asks with a confused expression. He can hardly even remember what happened after he felt Lance curls around him.

"The...others showed up." Lance cuddles into Keith as he talks. "Hunk tried to help save you. The rest of the humans that had helped Zarkon realized he was wrong." He bites his lip, deciding to keep the fact that he nearly let himself die slide under the radar. "Allura showed up and offered to bring you back in exchange for my immortality and siren form permanently. " Nuzzling into Keith, Lance's grip tightens a bit. "A lot happened all at once but...all that matters is that you are back."

Keith nuzzles back. "I bet we'll be the talk of the town for a while and now that you are permanently human, we should get you more clothes." He hears his phone vibrate on top of the drawer but he ignores it.

Lance glances toward Keith's phone then back to Keith. "You don't want to check that?" He seems surprised. "Isn't it a message?" Leaning in to nuzzle Keith's neck, Lance hums. "More clothes would be good so I can stop wearing all of yours. But I'm in no hurry."

"We can check my phone later." He cuddles closer to Lance. He starts to think that if they go shopping soon, his injury might guly trip some people into giving them discounts. Only Pidge would be on board with that plan though. "Do you like my clothes because they are mine?" He asks with a teasing tone.

"I like everything of yours because they're yours." Lance responds plainly. "But your clothes smell like you." He kisses Keith's cheek and wraps his arms around his waist as best he can without hurting him.

"Maybe we should buy clothes that we just share. That way it's both of ours," he suggests. He'd love to wear Lance's clothing too. It will definitely be a bit big though.

"I'd like that too!" Lance smiles brilliantly then seems to come to a harsh realization. "I'm going to have to get use to wearing shirts aren't I?" He groans a little and pouts.

Keith chuckles and kisses Lance. "No pouting," he teases. "Besides, this..." he trails his right and down Lance's chest to his stomach,"Is all mine."

Lance shivers at the touch but smiles up to Keith before leaning in to kiss him. "But shirts are uncomfortable." He complains quietly. "I don't like them." With a shrugs, Lance sighs. "But I'll get use to it I'm sure."

"We can get really cute shirts for you to make it worth it." Keith can imagine Lance in animals shirts or ones with silly phrases.

"I just want them to be soft." He admits then looks into Keith's eyes. "And for you to like them." Lance adds with a smile. "Other than that I don't really care. I won't wear them in the house anyway."

Keith chuckles again. "Oh, the aquarium will give you clothes for when you work. They might not be as comfortable as you would like. They'll also give you a swim outfit if they have you train the dolphins and whales."

"Right! I still have to fill out that form!" He starts excitedly but then Lance looks plenty worried at the tail end of Keith's statement. "But...will I have to swim?" He bites his lip and looks down. "I still don't know how with legs."

"Not all the trainers get in the water but we can teach you how to swim." Keith gives Lance an eskimo kiss. "Humans have a swimming style that mimics how merpeople swim, so that might work."

Lance grins a little. "You'd be willing to teach me?" He sounds happier than he looks and gleefully returns the eskimo kiss. "I hope I can get the job there." Looking toward the window, Lance smiles. "I'd get to buy you things and see friends."

"Do you want to fill out the paper now?" Keith uses his left arm to prompt him up a little. "We'd need to put the bowls in the sink to have more room."

Lance pouts and shakes his head. "I'm not leaving your side until you're better." He slides down and grabs the bowls. "Well, not for long at least." Heading toward the door, Lance turns back. "Anything else I should grab for you?"

Keith hums in thought. "My phone?" He should check who messaged him. It could be a worried Hunk or his boss.

Lance nods and hands it to Keith before walking quickly away to put the bowls in the sink. He grabs a bottle of water before heading back and takes a drink. Worried to stay away for long, Lance starts to head back.

Keith opens his message to see that it's Hunk. He assures Hunk that he is okay and that yes he did change his bandages. Just as he hits send, he receives another text. This time, it's from Lotor.

/ While I feel the need to also say sorry. You're welcome for bringing your friends in time for you to both make it out alive. /

/What are you talking about?/ Keith responds. He isn't sure if Lotor actually feels sorry or if he just wants something.

/ I'm the reason your friends showed up when they did? So you're welcome. But I'm also sorry./

Lance walks back in and slides down next to Keith, laying his head in Keith's lap and looking up at him with a smile.

Keith doesn't know how to reply so when Lance lays on him, he turns off his phone and places it down on the bed. He combs his hand into Lance's hair and smiles back. "Are we just going to stay here all day? We can watch videos."

Lance looks up to Keith and shrugs. "If you want to stay here, I'm fine with that." He leans up and kisses Keith gently. "I'm also fine just staring at you and talking all day." His lips curl, knowing Keith will likely blush from such a statement.

Keith looks away, hoping it would hide the redness started to appear on his cheeks. "Do you want to learn anything?" he asks, trying to get Lance's attention off him. "We can go over the alphabet and their sounds."

Lance grins when he sees Keith blushing but doesn't tease him more. "Hm...I should probably learn more about all the...message boxes and stuff." He reaches up and runs his hand through Keith's hair with a sigh. "I have a lot to learn now huh?"

Keith leans towards Lance's hand. "Yeah, there is a lot but I'll help you." He grabs his phone and quickly does something before showing Lance the lock screen. "Swipe your finger across to unlock my phone."

Lance smiles when Keith agrees to help. He nods and does what Keith tells him to then, before Keith can say anything more, finds the camera app and takes a picture of the two of them - with Lance kissing his cheek. "Ok. Now what?"

Keith is frozen with shock for a moment before his face slowly becomes fully red. has stopped working.

Lance pokes Keith's nose and laughs. "Keeeeiiith." He sings then leans in and kisses his ear before whispering, "You're supposed to be teaching me things, remember?"

Keith's blush darkens as he slowly falls onto his pillow, hiding his face. "I can't teach like this," he whines into the pillow.

Lance laughs then crawls to be right next to Keith's face again as he talks. "Why not?" He teases before nuzzling into his cheek and giving him a handful of kisses. "I will never get over how perfect you are." His voice is light as he laughs again before kissing Keith's ear.

Keith whines. He knows Lance is doing all this on purpose. "Why do you do this to me?" he whines.

"Do what?" Lance says innocently. He lays down onto his back so he can try to meet Keith's eyes. "I'm just trying to learn about this." Motioning toward the phone, Lance grins then tries to use his nose to get Keith to look up.

After a few nuzzles, Keith finally looks up. His face is still red. He chooses to ignore Lance's question, knowing that Lance will only enjoy his answer. "Do you want to try texting? Messaging."

"I could try?" Lance looks uncertain. "That's using letters and stuff right?" He scratches his head and smiles bashfully. "I still don't know how to spell much." Quickly, he leans in and kisses Keith again. "But I'll try!"

"Do you want to text Pidge or Shiro?" Keith unlocks his phone and goes to his messages.

"Um..." He gnaws on his lip then shrugs. "Shiro I guess."

Keith taps on Shiro's icon then on the message area and show Lance the screen. "What do you want to say to him?"

Lance sits for a second, thinking hard. He isn't really sure what to say to Shiro besides thank you or sorry - but everyone keeps telling him to stop saying sorry - so, "Just thank you maybe?"

"Okay, you hold the phone. I'll spell it out for you." He waits till Lance is ready before slowly spelling out 'thank you'. It's cute watching Lance scan the entire keyboard to find each letter.

Lance feels like he's taking a long time to find each letter and is a bit frustrated that the letters aren't in order, but he said he would try. Under his breath, Lance repeats each letter as he finds it and - once the words are spelled out - feels an odd mix of annoyed and proud so he looks up at Keith with a nervous smile. "Did I do it?"

Keith smiles back. "You did it. Now hit this button." He points to the send button. "It sends the message."

Lance nods and touches the button then watches the screen for a minute. Handing the phone back to Keith, Lance can't help but pout. "I don't think I'll be very good at that for a while." He admits then his pouty face only gets gloomier. "Being a human is hard." He laughs a little.

Keith nuzzles Lance. "It's okay. It takes humans a while to get used to phones too." He sets the phone aside. "The older phones were worse."

Lance cuddles into Keith and kisses his neck. "What were older phones like?" He hums into Keith's ear before wrapping an arm around his chest.

"Older phones only had 12 buttons. You would have to push the same button several times to get the right letter or number but it was in alphabetical order." Keith grabs his phone again to show Lance a photo of what a flip phone looks like.

"So you used numbers as letters?" Lance's head kinks to one side before he shakes it. "I wouldn't like that. Why not just talk to them?"

"Because sometime someone is too busy to talk so by texting, they can answer later. Also some people don't like talking and would prefer texting."

"Oh." Lance pretends to understand. He moves in closer to Keith and nuzzles him. "You're amazing you know that?" His voice is sing songy and his smile is big enough that Keith can likely feel it against his neck.

Keith just hums. He isn't going to accept that he is amazing but he isn't going to argue either. Keith's phone buzzes so he shows Lance Shiro's reply.

/Thanks for what?/

Lance looks at the letters and recognizes the first word but the other two he looks at and sounds out as best he can. He tilts his head and, once Keith helps him, Lance smiles at the phone. "Do I have to respond?" Biting his lower lip nervously, Lance isn't sure he can really figure out how to put into words why he's saying thank you. Especially in few words because...typing.

"I can type it for you," Keith offers, noticing Lance's nervousness. He should pull out his laptop later, it'll be easier for Lance to practice. He should also get some child books for Lance to read.

"Thank you for... being here and letting me stay and being your protector." Lance blushes a bit and can't meet Keith's eyes. "Just thank you for everything."

Keith changes it a little so that Shiro knows who is the one actually thanking him.

/Lance: Thank you for being here and letting me stay and being Keith's protector. Thank you for everything./

Lance looks something between nervous and embarrassed when Keith sends the message so he buries his face into Keith's neck.

Keith purrs and nuzzles Lance. "What's wrong?"

Lance shakes his head. "I don't know. I just feel weird. I mean," He doesn't unbury his face as he speaks so it's slightly muffled. "I was really mean to him before. And now I feel so thankful for him and it's...embarrassing I guess."

Keith laughs. "You think you were mean? You should have seen me when I first met him. Almost punched him in the face!"

"He told me you had a knife." Lance laughs a little then hugs Keith tighter before getting worried he might hurt him. "It's just...strange to have something of a colony again. Er, family." He manages to hide his face more at this.

"Did I have a knife?" Keith asks himself out loud. "I probably did." He nuzzles Lance again. "I know how you feel. It only gets weirder."

Lance whines then kisses Keith's neck. "It's been so long since I had anyone and now I have several." He finally looks up at Keith with a bashful smile. "All thanks to you."

Keith's blush comes back but it's light. "My family is yours." Keith then laughs again. "We have one crazy family." Everyone in this group is so weird, the closest one to being 'normal' is Hunk.

"Thank you." He says with a brilliant smile. "I've never had a sane family so that works." Lance starts to cover Keith's neck in kisses. "You're mine. My Keith. I love you." He laughs a bit more.

"Lance," Keith whines when his neck is attacked. His blush darkens as he tilts his head away from Lance. It's embarrassing and slightly tickling but he loves it because it's Lance. "I love you too."

Lance looks back up at Keith and sighs when he stops kissing him. He just admires him for a second before grabbing Chomp and making him nuzzle into Keith with a laugh. "He felt left out."

Keith chuckles and gives Chomp an eskimo kiss. "Bora is feeling left out too." He makes the stuff hippo nuzzle into Lance's cheek.

Lance hugs Bora then puts both stuffed animals between them before snuggling into them and Keith. He looks back up at Keith and smiles again. "Our silly stuffed children." Laughing, Lance pets them both before giving Keith a quick kiss on the cheek.

Keith chuckles. He had honestly never imagined his stuff animals as children before. "Should we get more? Make the family bigger?"

Lance smiles and shakes his head. "Two is already pretty big, right?" He nuzzles Keith and sighs. "I..." Stopping himself, Lance ends his thought by just kissing Keith's neck again.

"Two is about average." Keith kisses Lance's forehead. "You what?"

Lance blushes and swallows hard before looking down. "I always wanted a kid. But sirens couldn't breed easily." He blushes more. "And I know we can't so...at least we have Chomp and Bora." As he speaks his voice just gets more and more squeaky.

"If you really want a child, we can adopt one in the future. There..." Keith pauses for a moment. "The orphanage isn't too far away from here."

Lance curls his toes up and rubs them against the blanket. "So we'd be able to be a family of orphans?" He chuckles a little at this then looks up to Keith, face red, before burying his face into Keith's chest and whining a little.

"Do you not like the idea?" Keith ask worryingly as he rubs Lance's back. Maybe Lance didn't want to take care of a human child but liked the thought of it. Is it because they would be a family of orphans?

"No. I love the idea." He says before looking up at Keith with a bashful smile. "You're just too good for me." Lance cuddles into him again and laughs. "It would be amazing."

Keith smiles. "Can you imagine their reaction? They would know about us already." He imagines the kids aweing at Lance and asking him so many questions.

Lance feels his face growing hot so he just grabs Keith tighter and whines. "Everyone is going to know about me aren't they?" He asks almost nervously. "And you're serious about...about adopting?"

"I probably won't be the best parent. I do have a collection of knives that I _play_ with but I will adopt a child with you." Keith nuzzles into Lance more.

"I'd be awful too probably." Lance laughs. "I've never really been around kids. And even when there were young back in the colony, merchildren grow much faster than human children." He kisses Keith's neck a few times. "I'd have to learn a lot first."

"How long does it take for merchildren to grow?" Keith asks. "Humans sometimes takes 21 years to be even remotely mature but they are only really considered children until they hit 13."

"Merchildren are usually fully grown within a couple of year." He laughs and muffles himself by burying his face in Keith's shoulder. "They tend to be mature within a couple decades as well. _Usually_ within a couple decades." He looks at Keith nervously. "Just a few differences huh?

"Just a few," Keith laughs. "Do you want to watch stupid adult humans?" He secretly likes watching adults who are stupid and makes a scene about their problems.

"Sure." Lance laughs then cuddles into Keith before kissing his neck a bit more. "I want to do whatever you want to do."

Keith pulls up youtube, making sure Lance can see where the icon is on his phone. He scrolls through his favorites until he finds the one that it's obvious that the person yelling and screaming are in the wrong.

Lance can't help but laugh after a minute. He cuddles into Keith and grins. "But why are they saying that? Do they really not get it?"

"No they don't," Keith laughs. He pulls up another one, this time the person is drunk. He doesn't know if Lance understands that so he explains," He's drunk, like he is loopy and isn't able to think properly."

Lance watches and laughs then shakes his head. "I've never understood why humans drink things that make them like that." He nuzzles. "Do you like getting drunk?"

"Nope," Keith shakes his head, "I've been drunk once and I hated it. If you want, you can try some. Some types are sweet."

Lance thinks about it for a minute then shakes his head. "I don't think I'd like it either." He laughs at a moment in the video. "Especially since I already don't know much."

Keith nuzzles Lance and waits for this video to end before playing a compilation of cute and silly cats.

Lance's eyes sparkle when the cat videos start. "They are so cute." He blurts dramatically then grabs Keith. "Why are they so cute?! I would play with it all the time!"

"Cats aren't always cute," Keith chuckles. "We can go to a cat cafe or an animal shelter, they let you play with cats."

Lance looks like he might explode at that. "I want to go play with the furry kitty babies!" He almost shouts this before nuzzling Keith. "You are the best. The absolute best. I love you."

Keith chuckles again. He loves it when Lance gets so excited. "I love you too silly," he says as he nuzzles back.

With a laugh, Lance kisses Keith's neck a handful of times as he hums. "I'm so lucky. The most lucky. Like, how did I get so lucky?" He says all this on between kisses and cuddles.

Keith tries to kiss Lance's forehead just as many times. He may have been short by one or two. "I think I'm the lucky one. I survived swimming into the dead zone, got a boyfriend, and was brought back to life."

Lance pouts. "But you were only brought back because I am - was - a monster. You got a monster boyfriend." He can't help but grin as he speaks the last line. "Meanwhile I had a pretty human swim up to find me, offer to take care of me, he _actually likes me_ and teaches me things, and he was willing to die for me." With a stern glare, Lance points at Keith. "Don't do that again. It was stupid."

Keith slightly pouts. "How was it stupid? Technically they started it since they had knives pointing at me. I was acting in self defense." He places his forehead against Lance's. "And you weren't a monster. You were a supernatural being."

"It was stupid because you almost died!" He responds dramatically before cuddling closer. "I don't want to know what it would be like to live without you again ok?!" Lance nuzzles into Keith and kisses his neck. "I've never had someone defend me. I would have been fine. Seeing you get hurt was the most painful thing I've watched ok?" He pouts again before burying his face into Keith's hair. "I'm just glad I saved you." He whines the words.

"I had to try and save you." Keith pulls Lance closer. "They were going to kill you. That's why they were prepared to fight me, cause they knew I would try and stop them." He nuzzles Lance. "But, I promise I'll do my best so you don't have to go through watching me like that again."

Keith rubs Lance's back. "Never again," he echoes. "But I am still going to defend you."

Lance whines. "But I don't want you to get hurt." He cuddles into him, somehow closer than they were. "I'd rather get hurt. It'd be fine." He grumbles then kisses Keith's neck.

"Are you sure? Some people are still going to call you names and bully you."

"That's...really not new." He actually laughs a little before looking up to Keith and kissing him on the lips. "But enough about that," he whispers breathless once he pulls away, "Kittens. I like them. Though I like you way more."

"I can be your kitty. Meow." Keith mimics a cat's paw with his left hand. He then lightly paws at Lance's shoulder.

Lance covers his mouth and blushes before squeaking. He tries to say something but fails so he just swallows hard and keeps his mouth covered. Keith keeps meowing and pawing at Lance. Finding Lance being speechless, amazing.

Lance nuzzles into Keith then wraps his arms around him before putting his hands in Keith's hair and petting him. "Mine." He squeaks out at last.

Keith purrs happily. He nuzzles into Lance's chest. "All yours."

Lance whines again then kisses Keith's neck about a hundred times in a split second. When he stops, Lance grabs Keith's face between his hands. "How is this real? How am I this happy? What magic do you have?"

"Human magic?" Keith shrugs with a sheepish smile.

"Keith magic." Lance says with a smile as he shakes his head. "I've met humans. None of them were like you. So it must be Keith magic." He wraps himself around Keith, forgetting for a minute that Keith has been hurt.

Keith groans softly and shifts a little so Lance isn't putting pressure on any of his wounds. "I guess I just have special Lance attracting powers."

Lance jumps. "I'm sorry! Im so sorry. I'm an idiot." He looks Keith over, as though he could see where hurt. "But yes. You have me entranced."

Keith pulls Lance back. "No, stay. Just be careful." He misses Lance being wrapped around him. He mentally curses at his injuries.

Lance smiles nervously before wrapping around Keith again. "You sure?" He nuzzles into Keith and starts to kiss his neck, trailing a gentle path from his collarbone to his jaw.

Keith hums and closes his eyes. "Yea. I miss being like this."

"Me too." Lance admits quietly as he kisses from Keith's jawline to his ear. "You're so warm." He whispers once his lips are against Keith's ear. "And perfect."

Shivers run down Keith's spine. He hates how sensitive he is to Lance's whispers. Keith slightly opens his eyes to gaze at Lance.

Lance grins in response to Keith's gaze before kissing along Keith's earlobe. "I love seeing your face like this." He teases quietly.

Keith whines softly as his cheeks grow red. "Yup." Lance giggles. "Just like that." He runs his fingers up the other side of Keith's neck as he plants a few more kisses. "My favorite."

In this state, Keith wants more than just kisses. "Lance," he whines," More." He wants the feeling of Lance licking and sucking on his neck.

Lifting his head up to meet Keith's eyes, Lance teasingly raises an eyebrow before leaning back down and biting down a little. He releases the skin then licks over the bite mark. Watching Keith with a smirk, Lance drags his fingers through his hair before grabbing a handful and lightly pulling.

Keith's blush slowly darkens and when his hair is pulled, he can't hold back a soft moan. His neck where Lance bit feels tingly and slightly cold.

"Now that isn't fair." Lance complains quietly I to Keith's ear before kissing it again. "You can't make a sound like that when I can't do anything for you."

Keith lets out a shaky breath. "You still can," he whispers.

"Do you want me to?" Lance whispers into Keith's ear before trailing his nails down the back of his neck. "I don't want to hurt you."

More shivers run down Keith's spine and his eyes roll back a little. "I'll... Be okay. It's you after all." Keith smiles lovingly at Lance with closed eyes.

Lance trails his fingers down Keith's chest until he gets to his hips. Dancing his fingertips along Keith's happy trail, Lance looks both happy and nervous. "You're sure?"

Keith can already feel himself starting to harden. "Yeah," he nods.

Lance smiles then slips his hand down Keith's pants and starts to rub him as he speaks. "Tell me if you need me to stop or do anything different, promise?" He questions just in time to start pumping, anxious to hear Keith moan.

Keith lets out a shaky moan before answering," P-promise."

"You'd better." Lance leans in, kissing Keith's neck as he starts to pump harder. Then he starts to bite Keith's skin. "God you are amazing." He whispers in almost a moan into Keith's ear.

Keith moans louder, arching his back a little. "Lance," he moans as he bucks his hip.

Lance pumps harder then kisses down Keith's neck and pulls his pants past his waist. "Say it again." He asks quietly before replacing his hand with his mouth.

"Aahhh~! Lance!" He moans louder than he meant to, not having been fully mentally prepared for the switch.

"Was that Keith?" Shiro asks worryingly as he starts to stand up.

Lance feels his mind go blank as Keith says his name louder. He licks Keith up and down then starts to take more of him in his mouth again. Fuck Keith makes the sexiest fucking sounds.

"Was what Keith?" Matt is still a bit out of it this morning so he was zoned out and hadn't heard anything

"Aaah~!" Keith combs his left hand into Lance's hair and grips lightly.

"That," Shiro says when he hears it again. "I should go check up on them."

Lance buries his face into Keith's crotch, taking all he can into his mouth, deep throating him again and working him as best he can before trailing one hand up Keith's chest. Keith bites his lip to muffle his moans. God Lance is so good at this.

Matt barely hears anything. "I think you're just paranoid." He teases.

"You're just deaf. You like to play your video way too loud," Shiro teases back. "I'm going to go see if they need anything." He starts to walk towards Keith's room.

Lance pulls up when Keith bites his lip, almost offended he's not making noise. When he hears a knock at the door, Lance buries himself in the comforter but refuses to stop so he just licks Keith and takes a little of him in, waiting to see what's happening.

"Keith? Can I come in?"

Keith groans softly before trying to make his voice as steady as possible. "No, don't come in." He bites his lower lip again before asking,"Do you need something?"

Lance almost smiles when he hears Shiro talking to Keith. Thinking it might be fun, Lance teases by licking up Keith's full length before taking more of him in again.

"I'm just trying to make sure you're okay is all." Shiro cracks the door so he can both hear and be heard better. "Worried about you, you know?"

Keith lets out a shaky breath in place of a moan. "I-I'm okay. Lance is taking care great care of me." Keith grabs a pillow and hugs it into his chest, also covering his mouth. He moans softly which gets even quieter because of the pillow.

Shiro peeks in and just sees Keith cuddled up and is super confused as to why the secrecy. "Do you want me to bring meds or anything? I haven't seen you out here all day."

Lance pulls back slowly and pushes forward fast as he takes more of Keith in with each push down then lightly scratches at Keith's hips, loving the struggle he can hear in Keith's voice.

Keith hugs the pillow tighter. Using injured muscles hurt a little but it doesn't really affect him. "I'm all good," his voice is slightly shaky but hopefully Shiro doesn't notice," Lance has been getting things for me."

"Alright." Shiro pouts a bit. "Let me know if you need me." He closes the door again before stepping away.

Lance hardly waits for Keith to finish speaking before he starts to deep throat him again. When he does, he buries his nails into Keith's hips. Keeping the pillow to his mouth, he tilts his head back and moans loudly. "N-no fair," he whines.

Lance pulls up and uncovers himself enough to smirk up at Keith. "Should I stop then?" He teases, having replaces his mouth with his hand again.

"No," Keith whines and bucks his hips. Lance is being so mean! "Don't stop."

Lance leans in and kisses Keith deeply then wastes no time in taking him back in his mouth and scratching at his hips again. He hums for a bit then switches between deep throating and barely having Keith in his mouth.

Keith moans louder and hugs the pillow even tighter. "Lance, please~" he moans," Make me cum." Keith isn't that close to climaxing but he wants more.

At that, Lance stops holding back and starts to deep throat Keith while humming. He wraps his arms around Keith and drags his nails down his back while bobbing his head.

Keith moans even louder and arcs his back. He bucks his hips. His eyes are rolled back and his mind is all foggy.

When Keith bucks his hips Lance groans. He's hornier than he'd like to admit and listening to Keith is only making it worse. But he won't stop. Not until Keith is finished. Trailing one hand to Keith's chest to play with his nipple, Lance scratches down his back again before going so deep that his nose is against Keith's pelvis.

"Lance~! Close!" His whole body shivers. He is clawing at the pillow in his arms while his head digs back into the other one. "Ahhh~!"

Lance pulls up long enough to say one thing, "I love when you moan my name." He basically moans the words then goes back to deep throating Keith, scratching all the way to his ass and pushing him up into him, wanting to take every little bit of him in then moans as he feel Keith starting to throb with the nearing climax.

"Lance~" he moans more. "Lance~! Cumming~!" His vision blurs as he cums, his whole body shaking.

Lance swallows then crawls up to kiss Keith. He grins as he listens to Keith panting then kisses his neck a bit more. "Hearing you call my name makes me oddly...turned on." He chuckles before cuddling next to Keith and admiring him.

"Do you want to... I can't help much but I can try," Keith offers. He could either jack Lance off or Lance could kneel on top of him.

Lance smiles. "How about an IOU for when you feel better." He leans in and kisses Keith deeply. "I don't want you to push yourself too much and open wounds."

Keith hums into the kiss. "Okay. I'll make sure to make it worth the wait." He remembers mangas where the uke dresses up like a sexy cat, maid, or naked apron. He'll do one if those.

Lance nods. "That's fair." He agrees, not really having any idea what Keith was planning but adoring the idea of him going out of his way for him. "How are you feeling by the way, do you need anything?"

"No." He yawns. "But since we are staying in bed all day, might as well nap."

Lance smiles at Keith. "I might try to fill out that form while you nap." He can't deny working at the aquarium would be amazing. Even if he is afraid to try to fill that all out. "But sleep if you're tired Karmele."

"Make sure you use a pencil," Keith advices, just in case Lance finds a pen. He nuzzles Lance. "I love you Nixie. Stay here until I fall asleep." He wraps himself around Lance, making sure that there isn't extra pressure on any of his wounds.

Lance nods. "Like I would leave before that." He sings as Keith falls asleep and runs his fingers through Keith's hair and sighs. No matter what seems to happen, Lance just feels like he is falling in love more and more. Only once Keith is asleep does Lance grab the form and walk out of the room to find someone to help him.


	20. Chapter 20

Shiro is in the living room, cuddling into Matt into the living room. The TV is on a random channel and Matt is on his phone.

Lance walks up to Shiro nervously and clears his throat. "C-can you help me? Reading is still hard." He asks awkwardly.

Shiro sits up with a smile. "Yeah. Do you want to do it here or somewhere else?"

"Wherever you like best is fine with me." Lance holds the paper and his pencil close. "I just want to fill it out."

"If you don't mind the tv, we can do it here." Shiro scoots away from Matt to be closer to where Lance and Keith normally sits.

Lance smiles and shakes his head. "I don't mind." He sits down and is able to figure out name but doesn't actually know Keith's last name.

Shiro waits until Lance writes down his name. "Keith's last name is Kogane. K-O-G-A-N-E."

Lance spells it out and tries to figure a few other things out. With Shiro's help, he even manages to use the Holt address as his. But when he gets to age, he thinks probably longer than he realizes.

"You're probably around Keith's age so... 20?" Shiro shrugs and looks to Matt to see if he had an opinion. Matt doesn't even realize Shiro was trying to talk to him.

"Keith is 20?" Lance's train of thought was obviously interrupted but after the question, he shakes his head. "I was just trying to remember how many new years humans celebrated by the lake. I think it was 52. Which means I'm about 373 I think."

Shiro sweat drops when he looks back at Lance. "By human years you look about 20. When the people look at the application, they aren't going to know right away that you were a siren."

Lance seems to think on that for a bit. "Humans age different don't they?" He sighs. "I can be 20, that works for me." After writing that down, Lance looks to Shiro. "How old do humans get? Mine have never stayed around that ..long."

"Most humans don't get any older than 95," Shiro says. He looks at Lance with a sad expression, knowing that the number is way lower than what Lance is used to as a siren.

Lance looks down. "Hm." He says shortly then swallows a bit. He's trying not to panic. "So..." The words fall short, he's not sure what he was going to say. Hand shaking with the sudden realization that he won't live much longer, - in merfolk time - Lance reaches out and tries to sound out the next bit of his form. But even in doing so, he can't seem to think clearly. Laughing a bit, Lance shakes his head. "Reading is kinda hard."

"If you need time to process everything, you don't have to fill out the form now." Shiro rubs Lance's back.

Lance puts the pencil down and covers his face. "You all do so much but...how do you ever finish anything in such a short amount of time?" He keeps trying to calm himself but suddenly he feels so vulnerable so he just laughs weakly. "And here I thought I was young."

"I guess... Humans just are used to it? We do spent a lot of our life in school."

Lance hugs himself and tries to smile but it comes across as some awkward thing. "I...didn't realize." He admits at last. "I knew you all weren't immortal but I...never knew." Shaking and not even realizing it, Lance laughs a bit then hugs himself tighter then looks to the form. "Alright. Let's finish this." His voice is uncertain but Lance told Keith he would finish this while he napped.

Shiro just continues to rub Lance's back, hoping to help. "Alright." He watches as Lance struggles to read each part and help him answer them.

After filling out a few things, and realizing he really can't fill out most of it, Lance just turns and curls into Shiro without saying anything. He just wants to hide. Between not being able to do basically anything himself and realizing humans don't live long, Lance just feels...odd.

Shiro wraps his arms around Lance and just silently holds him close. He doesn't know what to say to make Lance feel better.

"I'm sorry." Lance apologizes quietly but doesn't uncurl from his tight position. "I should be appreciative." He somehow manages to curl up tighter and takes a deep breath then tries to sit back up and smile. "So...I haven't done most of the things on this form. How will I possibly get the job there without this stuff?"

"I'm sure if you put an explanation as to why you can't fill out the section, they might be okay with it." Shiro rubs Lance's back again. "They might recognize your name too."

"We didn't have human school in the ocean?" Lance laughs a bit. "I swam with lots of schools!" He laughs again then shakes his head. "And jobs...I could put hunter? Gardener? Interior decorator?" Trying to lighten himself up, Lance laughs more.

Shiro smiles. "You can put the last two under skills. For the school, you can leave it blank or say that you used to be a siren. I'm sure they will have heard about you and Keith by the time you submit your application."

Lance nods and looks up at Shiro with a nervous but honest smile. He works to finish the rest then looks to the kitchen. "I should figure out how to make something for Keith when he wakes up." Not realizing he was speaking out loud, Lance starts to mumble through a list of what he could make.

"Ramen is really easy to make and Keith likes it," Shiro says,"All you have to do is put water into the cup and wait a bit. You ate the shrimp one a while ago."

Lance looks over to Shiro and smiles. "I can do that!" He hops up and finds the ramen, having already watched them a few times over. Making sure there's water in the kettle, Lance turns the stove on and stands back waiting for it to boil. Sighing as he plays with his hands, Lance looks oddly nervous but doesn't know if anyone is paying attention or not.

After a little bit, Shiro decides to get up and check on Lance. "You doing okay?" He asks as he enters the kitchen. "Waiting for water to boil isn't the funnest thing to do."

Lance nods. "I'm okay. I just..." He shakes his head. "It's nothing." Looking back toward the stove, Lance watches the kettle some more.

Shiro stands a little closer to Lance. "If something is bothering you, you can tell me." He smiles at Lance. "I am your protector and a great listener."

Lance smiles again then leans back against the counter and sighs. "I'm just...worried about being...good enough?" He admits with a shrug. "I know he's happy now but...no offense, but humans can be pretty fickle." Smiling with eyes closed, Lance laughs a bit. "And I just want to be good enough. That's all."

Shiro pats Lance on the back. "I understand. I know a lot of humans are that way, met plenty of them. But Keith won't ever stop loving you. He never changes his mind once he has decided." He hugs Lance. "If he ever does try to throw you away, which he won't, we wouldn't let him."

"But I want to feel worthy of it?" Lance replies as if its a question. "Right now I feel like there's so little I can do for him." He sighs then hears the water start to boil so he preps the ramen. "But thank you. It's nice to hear. "

"No problem. And as for feeling worthy, you'll figure it out in time. A lot of couples wonder about the same thing."

Lance smiles to Shiro then grabs the ramen and spoons. "Thank you." Then he walks back into the room and sets the bowls down before watching Keith sleep a but more.

"Does he not realize how much he's proven himself?" Matt finally speaks up, clearly having paid attention longer than he let on.

"Oh, so now you start talking," Shiro huffs. He lightly glares at Matt for a second before saying, "I think he wants to help without being helped."

"You were doing just fine." Matt teases then holds his arms put toward Shiro and makes grabby hands at him. "He's been human for such a short amount of time and already doing well." He shrugs. "He'll be fine."

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

After a few minutes, Keith starts to open his eyes. He tries to sit up but has forgotten that he is still injured. He flops back down as his arm throbs in pain.

Lance sees Keith flop back down and hurriedly jumps over to him. "Are you ok? What do you need?" He pouts and looks Keith over.

"I'm okay," he groans. "I just used the wrong arm." He looks up at Lance before scooting closer.

Lance pouts and kisses Keith gently. "I'm sorry..." He trails off sadly then motions to the ramen. "I made food though. Should still be hot for you."

Keith smiles and sits up, using his good arm this time. "Thanks Nixie." He kisses Lance's cheek. He had noticed that there was only one. "Are you not hungry?"

Lance smiles happily and turns to kiss Keith in response. Looking back to the food, Lance scratches the back of his head. "I just forgot to make me food." He admits bashfully. "I'll eat in a bit... I'm not _that_ hungry anyway." Trailing off, he grabs the ramen and scoops a bite for Keith.

Keith chuckles. "I want to go with you when you make your food." He eats the bite quickly. "It's boring just staying in bed while you have to run around for me."

"Ok." Lance agrees happily before leaning in and kissing Keith. "I won't argue you being with me more." He smiles them grabs another bite and carefully feeds Keith more. There's no hiding how much he enjoys pampering Keith.

Keith feels a little giddy as he takes the second bite. Lance continues to feed Keith until its gone then puts down the bowl and cuddles into him. "I filled out the form!" He says proudly once wrapped carefully around Keith. "We will have to take it in soon."

"Just let Shiro know when you want to go. We can all go and have an even better time." They wouldn't have to worry about hiding the fact that Lance is a siren and if the fish still talk to him, he can show it off.

"I want to go whenever you feel up to it!" He smiles and kisses Keith a bunch, thrilled that he gets to spend his life with Keith, even though his train of thought isn't vocalized. "And then I'll work there and get you stuff all the time!

"Make sure you get yourself things too," he chuckles softly. He rests his head on Lance's shoulder. He'll ask Hunk for baked sweets later, Lance will love them.

Lance giggles. "But I have what I want." He kisses Keith's forehead and smiles. "I guess I could buy clothes? That way you guys don't have to buy them." He shrugs then nuzzles into Keith's hair.

Keith chuckles and nuzzles Lance back. "Whatever you want."

"Its you." Lance responds with a silly laugh. "That's all I want." He cuddles into Keith and kisses his hair. "The rest isnt important."

Keith huffs with a smile. "I meant the clothes silly. I'm sure you'll find other things you like, eventually."

"Eh. I'm not interested in things really." He admits quietly. "None of its really important anyway." Lance hums as he traces hearts on Keith's chest.

Keith chuckles but doesn't argue. He knows Lance will find something he likes. It also won't be long until Lance is introduced to anime, even if they all have to suffer watching the dub versions.

Lance just smiles as he watches Keith and feels himself somehow falling even more in love. "Your Keith magic is way too strong." He says quietly.

"You're Lance magic is very strong too," Keith mumbles. Very carefully, he moves to sit on Lance's lap and cuddles into Lance's chest.

Lance hums and wraps his arms around Keith before resting his head on Keith's for a minute. He trails one hand up Keith's back, enjoying the feeling of movement on his fingertips he keeps moving them and smiles. "Allura could have healed you all the way geez. So rude." He doesn't realize his smile falters when he says this. "I hate seeing you in pain."

Keith purrs, loving the feeling of Lance's fingertips moving around against his back. He stops and looks at Lance wide eyes. "She could have healed me all the way? I assumed this was as much as she could do."

"I mean...I don't actually know. Still rude. If you can trade that much life to bring you back you'd think you could heal wounds too you know?" He sighs and shakes his head but never stops his fingers. "I shouldn't complain. I got you back. It just...wish I could make your wounds vanish."

"She did heal the wounds a lot. Just bringing me back to life doesn't really mean healing my wounds." He doesn't want to hate Allura for not going all out on healing him. If she didn't heal his wounds at all, he would need to go to the hospital, get a blood transfer, and get stitches.

"Yeah yeah." Lance cuddles into Keith more. "Still. Magic stuff should have just...healed the rest." He laughs then buries his face into Keith's neck. "Humans don't have magic stuff I could put on to help heal do they?"

"Nothing isn't going to make them heal super fast but if we keep changing the bandages every now and then, it should heal in about a week or two."

Lance pouts and whines. "Weeks..." He hugs Keith a little tighter. "I'm so sorry." His voice is quiet.

Keith pets Lance's hair with his left hand. "It's okay. This is loads better than having to go to the hospital."

Lance leans up and kisses Keith's hand. "I just wish I could do something more." He nuzzles against Keith's cheek and hums. "So what do you want to do?"

"I can prepare your food," Keith offers, feeling bad that Lance has already gotten him food twice today.

"That's not fun. We should do something fun." He giggles and give Keith an Eskimo kiss. "I'll eat later." Lance kisses Keith's cheek then smiles at him.

Keith blushes lightly. "Do you want to play a game or watch more videos?" He only has one or two computer games, they mostly have board games and console games.

Lance thinks about it then shrugs. "I don't know. I'm bad at sitting still. I don't know what games you have. I've played chess?" He shrugs again then kisses Keith more. "I just want to make you happy."

"Let's go to the living room then. You can pick a game, we even have two different sets of chess." Keith nuzzles more into Lance's chest.

Lance whines and kisses Keith's neck up in a line. "But then you won't be on my lap anymore." He complains a bit before pushing some of Keith's hair out of his eyes and behind his ear. "And this is so nice."

"If Shiro and Matt are still out there, I'm sure they would love to play against you. Then I can stay on your lap." If they stay here just like this, he might fall asleep again.

Lance smiles. "I could do that." He kisses Keith's neck again. "You can be my motivation to win." He nuzzles him and giggles. "Gotta show off for my pretty boyfriend."

Keith nuzzles back with a slightly darker blush. "Do you remember how each piece moves in chess?" He is asking just to check. If Lance doesn't remember, he can help throughout the game.

Lance nods. "I use to play it with a couple of my old humans. It was the first human game I learned." He kisses Keith's forehead. "I love you so much."

"I love you a lot too." He nuzzles himself into Lance's neck, his slightly cold nose pressed against Lance.

Lance laughs at the temperature difference then lifts himself up a bit. "Well let's go see how we do." He offers his hand. "Or should I carry you?"

"Either is fine." Keith takes Lance's hand, expecting to be helped to stand.

Lance grins then scoops Keith up and cradles him all the way to the living room. Once there he nuzzles Keith then smiles at Shiro. "You have a chess set?"

"Yeah. We have two sets. One is wooden and the other is glass." Shiro points to the two sets under the table.

"Glass sounds prettier." Lance says with a grin as he sits down and places Keith on his lap. "Do you want to play?"

Shiro reaches down and pulls out the glass set. "Sure but I'm a bit rusty," he gives Lance a sheepish smile as he sets up the board.

"Can't be as rusty as me!" He grins, knowing Shiro now knows how old he is and realizing Shiro can't be close to it. Really, the last time he played was likely before Shiro was even alive.

Shiro chuckles," True." It's not long before everything is set up with the clear pieces facing Lance. "You're first."

Lance nods and starts with a pawn. When he leans forward to move the piece, he kisses the back of Keith's neck. "I use to play this on the beach. With ones made from stone I think."

Keith blushes lightly but doesn't say anything. Shiro also starts with a pawn. "How often did you play?"

Lance moves another of the pawns, almost on the other half of the board. "Hm...usually a couple of times a week. I got pretty good actually." Again, when he leans forward, he kisses the back of Keith's neck and smirks.

Shiro moves a pawn that was a space away from the last one. "I guess the only problem now is if you're still good." When he looks up, he almost laughs at how much redder Keith's face is.

Lance shrugs. "I remember the basics but I don't remember all of the good strategies." He moves out a knight from where he'd moved the pawn, kissing Keith's shoulder this time when he moves. "So don't get your hopes up or anything."

Keith shakes his shoulders a bit, hoping Lance would stop before the blush reaches to his ears.  
"I'm just worried for myself." Shiro makes another pawn a space away from the previous.

Lance smiles at Shiro then moves his knight again. After a handful of turns, Lance notices the blush diminishing from Keith's face so he's certain to kiss just behind Keith's ear when he makes his next move. "So, they say chess is therapeutic and a good mental work out, right? Feeling worked well?" He smirks, feeling confident that he's started to make the right motions to win.

Shiro likes the challenge he sees in Lance's eyes. "Barely breaking a sweat." He has a plan but it all depends if Lance falls into his trap or not. "You?"

Lance shrugs. "Not really sure. You play a lot different than she use to." He tilts his head, looking the board over before moving his rook forward and gently kissing Keith's neck when he does.

He thought Lance was done so this one surprised him. "Lance," Keith whines in a whisper.  
Shiro slightly frowns, that wasn't what he wanted Lance to do but there is always next time. He moves his bishop.

Lance smiles at Keith then snatches one of Shiro's pawns, not really paying attention to what he should have done. "What? You were barely red anymore." He teases before kissing his neck again.

Keith pouts and his blush gets darker. "You're supposed to be playing" he whines.

Shiro smiles and uses his horse to take the piece that just took his pawn. Now he has gotten rid of the piece in his way.

"I am playing." Lance glaces over the board then moves his queen to take a seemingly open piece. " _And_ I'm playing with you!" He adds with a tease before leaning in and kissing behind Keith's ear again.

The kiss causes shivers to go down Keith's spine, making him whine softly.  
Shiro holds in his laughs. He didn't want to ruin their little moment but he also didn't want to give away the obvious mistake Lance made. He takes the queen with his bishop and waits for Lance to realize what just happened, if he can even register it with a blushing Keith in his lap.

Lance laughs when Keith whines then nuzzles into his ear. "You are too freaking cute. I don't know how I'm going to deal with that for the rest of my life." He laughs then looks around, momentarily confused as to where his queen went but then seeing another move he can make. He takes one of Shiro's rooks, not quite realizing he couldn't find his queen because Shiro had taken her. Lance leans back in and kisses Keith's jawline.

"Stooop," Keith whines. He notices that Shiro took the piece Lance just moved. "Lance," he tries to get Lance focus back on the game, "Pay attention."

"But I _am_ paying attention." He teases by giving Keith an eskimo kiss, "to how cute you look when you try to pretend you aren't blushing." Lance turns back to the board and actually looks around. "Ah crap." Thinking quick he manages to at least delay his defeat.

"Maybe you should have paid more attention to the board," Shiro says when he finally gets Lance into checkmate.

"You might be right." Lance scratches the back of his head then laughs. "But It's hard when I have someone as amazing as Keith on my lap." He teases quietly before kissing Keith's ear. Holding a hand out, Lance smiles toward Shiro. "Good game though. I'll have to try for a rematch sometime."

Shiro chuckles and shakes Lance's hand. "Anytime."  
Keith crosses his arms and pouts. He is trying to look annoyed but the very obvious blush made him look cute.

Lance just laughs when he looks back at Keith. "Seriously." He looks to Shiro and shakes his head. "How did you live with this and not want to keep him forever?" Kissing Keith's neck, Lance trails a line up then hugs him before quietly asking Keith, "how are you feeling? Do you need fresh bandages or anything?"

"I'm okay," Keith answers just as quietly," We can change my bandages after dinner." He doesn't really know when they should change it but it's probably a good idea to put on fresh ones before going to bed. Keith nuzzles into Lance's neck and whispers a thank you.

"I do want to keep him forever," Shiro mumbles softly, looking at the two with the same eyes a loving father would.

"Sounds good. Were you hungry?" Lance hugs him a bit tighter again then looks over to Shiro and smiles while still cuddled into Keith. He gives Shiro a knowing look, maybe he heard him, maybe he didn't but he can see the look on Shiro's face. "I won't let him go too far for long, ok?"

"You're the one who would be hungry," Keith answers softly, his face mostly hidden in Lance's neck. Shiro just smiles and nods.

Lance tries to turn and face him but Keith's face is too buried so he just kisses his head. "He didn't strike me as one to be shy when I first met him I swear." He speaks to Shiro again, giving Keith a playful nudge when he does.

Keith nudges Lance back with a soft huff. "He hates showing how shy he is," Shiro laughs. "We're the lucky ones to know just how cute he is."

Lance just kisses Keith's cheek and laughs. "I think I've noticed that." Lance teases. "And we are lucky for sure." He leans in to make eye contact with Keith. "My Karmele." He sings.

Keith whines and lightly head bumps Lance. His face is still completely red.

Shiro scoots closer to Matt again and leans against him. He tries to look at what Matt is looking at.

Lance smiles then does his best to stand and carry Keith outside. He wanted to enjoy fresh air for a bit.

Matt was lost in a mobile game until he notices Shiro scooting in close so he drops his phone and snatches Shiro up, dragging him onto his chest. "Good game goregeous." He smirks. "Should I reward your win?"

"That would be nice," Shiro smiled as he cuddles into Matt. (18+ scene of them in next chapter)

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... … ...**

Keith wraps his arms around Lance's neck. "Are we going to go to our special spot?"

Lance smiles when Keith wraps his arms around him. "I don't know if I could carry you all that way. Can you walk?" Hoe pouts and looks super guilty.

"As long as you hold me hand," Keith answers. "I need to use my legs otherwise I won't be able to walk when I'm done healing," he exaggerated.

"Like I'd let you go." Lance teases then carefully puts Keith down and watches to make sure he will be steady. "We'll walk there then we can sit and relax for a bit." Lance wraps his arm around Keith and smiles. "Hows this?"

Keith smiles at Lance. "Perfect." He wraps and arm around Lance as they started walking. Keith has a very obvious limp but it's not like anyone else was around to see it.

Lance watches Keith and just looks sad. "You sure you're alright? I can try to carry you further." He pouts.

"I'm okay," Keith tries to reassure Lance," It only hurts a little."

Lance doesn't pout any less. He sighs and nods, making sure he continues to help him walk as best he can. "I just worry."

"I'll let you know if I need to rest." He squeezes Lance a little. "It'll be okay."

Lance smiles weakly and nods. "Ok just don't push yourself too hard." He says sternly before nuzzling him. "It's nice today." He smiles up at the sky.

Keith looks up. It's a clear blue sky with a few white puffy clouds. The sun is out and there is a light breeze. "Yeah," Keith mumbles.

Lance had turned when Keith looked up to watch him and before Keith looks back down, he kisses his neck. "Still not as good a sight as you."

Keith blushes and lightly glares at Lance. He can't really do anything else at the moment otherwise he would fall.

"Why the mean face? I complimented you." Lance helps Keith get seated once they've reached their secret spot. "I can't help that you are my new favorite thing."

Keith blushes more and tries to cuddle into Lance to hide it.

Lance happily cuddles Keith then pulls him into his lap as he sits back against a tree. "I still feel like this is all some crazy dream." Lance admits after a moment of silence.

"I can pinch you," Keith offers, holding hand hand right above Lance's arm ready to do so.

"I think I need it." Lance says before kissing Keith's cheek. "You're way better than anything has ever been to me. I'm human. I have a family. It's all...too much."

Keith pinches Lance. "There, not dreaming." He cuddles more into Lance's chest. "This is your happy ending."

Lance flinches then smiles and kisses Keith's forehead. "Hopefully it's yours too." He hums a bit when he looks back to the sky.

Keith chuckles and corrects himself," Our happy ending." While Lance was looking up, Keith notices that a bunny was slowly hopping closer. It would stop after each hop, as if testing the new closeness.

Lance nods, still looking to the sky. "Glad to hear it." He looks back to Keith and kisses his neck before seeing the bunny and whispering. "Its fluffy like a kitten!"

"That's a bunny. It usually doesn't like being this close to humans," Keith says as he watches it get even closer. It hopped twice this time to get a little bit out of arm's reach.

"It's so cute." He whispers then Lance timidly holds his palm out toward the bunny but doesn't make a sound. He watches it as its ears twitch.

Keith watches as the bunny hops towards Lance's hand and inspects it, their nose touching his palm.

Lance smiles over to Keith, obviously thrilled by the bunny being so close to him. So much so that he feels like he might explode, especially when its whiskers start to tickle his hand. He tries to muffle his giggle by burying his face in Keith's neck.

The bunny hops closer, now within Keith's arm distance and looks at the two as if waiting for something. While trying not to get caught up in Lance's laughter, Keith slowly reaches his hand out to pet the bunny, which it allows.

Lance watches Keith pet the bunny and his smile only grows. He moves his hand, carefully, and pets him too. "He's so fluffy!" He squeaks as quietly as he can.

Keith chuckles. After a bit, Keith stops petting the bunny to let Lance have all of their attention but they didn't seem to like that. They shakes off Lance's hand and jumps into Keith's lap. Keith stares at them wide eyes but doesn't move to make it get off. The bunny settles on Keith's lap and waits to be petted again.

Lance can't hold it back anymore. He covers his mouth and squeals a bit. "Its so cute. Oh my god. And it loves you too!" He nuzzles into Keith's neck.

Keith starts to gently pet the bunny. "I think that's only because I'm with you." This has never happened before and only cats has ever seemed to like him before.

Lance watches him and the bunny and just hugs Keith tighter before starting to reach out and pet the bunny. "I wish we had something for it. Besides pets I mean."

"There is a pet store in town but... Getting up might scare the bunny away." He actually isn't sure how the bunny will react because how it's been acting is far from normal.

Lance pets it's ears and smiles at it. "Can we go buy you treats?" He asks the little ball of fluff. "I'm sure there would be something tasty for you there!

The rabbit opens their eyes and looks up at Lance, as if understanding him. They try to jump onto Lance's chest but ends up falling back onto Keith's lap. Keith couldn't help but find that adorable.

Lance laughs and scoots back so he try his hand at holding the rabbit. "Are you hungry?" He asks it once it lets Lance hold it and pet it's super soft fur. "Can we go get it something to eat?" He looks at Keith with puppy eyes.

"I wouldn't have told you about the pet store if I was gonna say no." Keith slowly rolls off Lance, using his left arm to catch him. He then slowly stands up on his own.

Lance watches Keith and the bunny carefully. "Ok little fluff, I'm gonna still help him ok?" He cradles the oddly well tempered bunny in one arm before wrapping his other around Keith's waist. "You going to make it ok?"

"Hopefully?" Keith gives Lance a sheepish smile and wraps an arm around Lance's shoulders. "I'll let you know if I need to rest."

Lance sighs then gives Keith a quick kiss before turning back to the bunny. "Let's go get you something to eat." He basically sings.

Their pace is slow due to Keith, which he feels bad for. The bunny however doesn't mind, finding this pace perfect. They close their eyes and drift off to sleep.

Lance sees Keith's guilty face. "This is fine love. We are fine. I'm not in a hurry." He kisses the side of his head then looks back to the bunny. "It fell asleep oh my gosh." He almost squeaks the words out.

Keith smiles, a really small one, at Lance. Only people know really know him would be able to see it. He nuzzles into Lance's shoulder a bit as he looks at the bunny. It has to be because of Lance, there isn't any other explanation.

Lance sees Keith's eyes curl and sighs happily. "Still doing ok?" He asks with a big smile. "Obviously little fluff is doing pretty well."

"I'm okay but..." Keith then starts to mumble, "Maybe we should have gone to the hospital yesterday. They would have given us a wheelchair, but you wouldn't have been able to sleep with me."

"Wheelchair..." Lance thinks for a bit. "Those are the ones where they are soft chairs with two big wheels and a few small ones right?" Pouting, he nuzzles Keith. "Should we go?"

Keith nuzzles back. "As long as you're okay with this, then no. It would just be for convenience and they would make us pay for it."

"I'm fine for sure." Lance kisses Keith's cheek. "I just don't want you to hurt." He sighs then looks back to the bunny. "We have to take care of little fluff."

"Is that their name now?" Keith chuckles. "Little fluff is a cute name."

"I dont know its name." Lance pouts then grins. "But it's basically a cuddle ball of fluff so it made sense." He looks the bunny over. "Do you think they'd like that name?"

"Since it's from you, I'm sure they will love it." Keith pats Lance's shoulder, using the hand that is already holding onto Lance's shoulder.

Lance blushes a little but smiles. "I like that." He sees the edge of town and looks around, amazed again by the buildings and such. "The pet store is the one with the animal pictures right?"

"Yup. They usually have a pet or two near the window." Keith does his best to ignore everyone's stares as they slowly walk into town. He can't tell if they were aimed at Lance, himself, or both. Most likely both at this point.

Lance is seemingly oblivious to the extra eyes as he's primarily focused on making sure Keith is fine. When they enter the shop, Lance is instantly hooked. He looks around and is in love then searches around for bunny stuff. "What should we get little fluff?"

"Are we going to keep them as a pet or just visit them a lot? Cause if we plan to keep, we would need a lot more than just food." Most of the other animals would turn their attention to Lance when they walked close enough.

"We should probably just visit a lot...right?" He walks to the fish tanks, still naturally gravitating toward water, and waving a finger to the smaller fish. "I mean...I don't know that little fluff would be as happy with just us. What if they have a family?"

"Hmmn... Just food then. Unless you want to get little fluff a collar, to make it easier to tell which one they are if more show up." They slowly walk through the store until they reach the bunny area. Smelling the food from the other bunnies food tray, little fluff started to wake up.

Lance looks the items over. "Ooh. Maybe one of the little bow necklaces!" (yes that's a collar) He watches the bunny wake up and smiles at it. "Did you have a nice nap little fluff?" He coos at it.

Little fluff twitches their nose before looking up at Lance. Keith reaches for the collar Lance chose, which gain the little bunny's attention. Keith sees that little fluff is looking at the collar so he holds it in front of them.

Lance finds little fluff's twitching nose absolutely adorable and tries to do it back. Instead he just makes a cute, scrunched up face then giggles a bit. "Do you like it little fluff?" He asks the curious bunny.

Not far off, a couple of workers are chatting, clearly about Keith and Lance. They are in awe of the obviously wild bunny sitting so calmly in Lance's arm and the innate reaction of all the other animals as he walks by. While they hadn't heard the rumor of the siren, they really want to ask Lance how he's doing that.

Little fluff sniffs the collar then looks up at Keith. "I think they like it." Keith places the collar in front of little fluff so that he can grab a bag of bunny food. "We gotta pay for these first before we can use them," Keith tells Little fluff, letting them know why they can't wear the collar yet.

Lance's smile grows when Keith addresses little fluff in Such a cute voice. He nuzzles the bunny and happily follows behind Keith. When they round the corner, one of the workers finally clears their throat and taps Lance's shoulder. "Excuse me are you like, an animal trainer?" She asks then waves at Keith. "Or maybe you both are?"

Keith looks at the employee confused. "Neither of us are animal trainers." He then starts to wonder exactly how many people actually knew about Lance. The entire town can't not know, right?

Then other worker slaps that one's arm. "I told you! I bet he's-"

"Sh that's just a story!" She responds in a rushed whisper.

"Just ask!"

"No!"

They speak quietly back and forth ad if the two boys cant hear them.

"What would you need to train animals for?" Lance asks suddenly. "Especially ones in the wild?"

"Usually people train animals in order to either make them more docile and obedient, just to teach them tricks, or to teach them how to help a human," Keith answers, seeing as the two employees are too busy bickering. He can guess what the other worker wants to ask and Lance probably wouldn't mind answering.

Lance seems to think about this for a minute while petting little fluff's head. "So...you kinda train me huh?" He finally says with his head tilted.

Hearing this, the one employee who had been trying to get the other to 'just ask' finally speaks up. "So are you actually a siren?" She blurts and the other slaps her arm.

Lance looks over to Keith, as though not sure he should answer, and wordlessly asks for help. Keith nuzzles Lance's arm. "Do you want to tell?" He whispers," No one will harm you anymore."

Lance thinks about it for a but, obviously nervous. "They - they wont hurt you either?" He asks quietly, pouting when he does.

Just from this, both workers realize it _must_ be true. They watch how nervous Lance is and the one actually awes at what he asks.

Keith quickly glances at the workers then back at Lance. "They won't hurt me either," he whispers and kisses Lance's cheek.

Lance looks relieved then takes a deep breath and nods when he looks back to the workers. "I _was_ a siren." He says without looking up. "I'm not anymore."

"Did you really die?" The one with curly hair asks Keith this time. "I heard you died and he brought you back."

"Yeah, I died," Keith answered, looking at the girl. Little fluff makes a noise similar to an oink, making everyone's attention turn to them. "What's wrong?" Keith asks, leaning closer to the bunny. Little fluff puts their front feet on the collar and looks up at Keith. "Hold on little buddy, we'll pay for it now," Keith chuckles softly.

"Oh my gosh!" The girl with a bob cut motions to the collar. "You can just put it on the little guy and hand me the tag. It's fine!" She hurries over to the register, obviously dying with excitement that the _siren_ is in _her store!_

Lance pets the bunny's head and brings it to his face and nuzzles his forehead against his. "It's ok Little fluff, we hadn't forgotten about you." He hums then starts to sing a song about a bunny he once heard some human children singing on the beach. Especially since he knows what a bunny is now!

Keith places the food onto the counter before grabbing the collar and tearing off the tag. While Lance is singing, he slowly slips the collar on little fluff and adjusts it. "There you go." He pets the bunny before placing the tag on the counter as well.

Lance giggles when the bunny shakes its head and sniffs at the collar. It looks back up at Keith and twitches its nose again, which Lance has grown disgustingly fond of. "Thanks Karmele." Lance leans in and kisses Keith's neck. "Still doing alright?"

The cashier and her friend watch the two of them and the one who had awed earlier does so again. "You're so loving for a - for a siren." She says quietly. "Its really cute." Her voice is quiet when she adds that. "Was he like that as soon as he met you?" The girl asks Keith.

"I'm doing okay," Keith smiles at Lance. "If you're thirsty at all, we can go sit at a cafe." He didn't want to admit that his leg was starting to hurt more. Keith then turns to the cashier. "Not right when I met him," he answers as he pulls out his card to pay.

"I was too!" Lance grumbles. "I was just mad because your friends tried to keep you away." He blushes a little when he says this. "One of the first things I said was how pretty you are and that I wanted you to be my human." He whines then pets the bunny. "But something to drink would be nice." He smiles then leans in and kisses Keith's neck.

"You were more flirty than sweet when we first met," Keith mumbles," Then you were sweet when I came back." He takes the plastic bag from the cashier and gives a nod in thanks.

"Well," Lance starts to argue but can't. Keith was right. Wrapping an arm around Keith to help him walk, Lance nuzzles into his neck. "Now I can be sweet and flirty." He smiles before giving the tiniest of bites to Keith's neck as they walk out the door.

Keith chuckles then hums softly. "I love you Nixie," he whispers.

"Love you too." He nuzzles into Keith then looks around. "Which way to the cafe?" He asks before being sure to nuzzle Little fluff too.

Little fluff twitches their nose as they nuzzles back. Keith doesn't say anything to interrupt the cuteness but he does start leading them towards the closest cafe, which happens to have a few outside seats.

Lance sees the seats outside and looks over to Keith happily. "Sit! I'll get us whatever you want. Give me the plastic thing you've been using and hold Little fluff." He leads Keith to a chair then puts Little fluff in his lap. "I'll be back. Karmele will take good care of you, ok?" He good to the bunny.

It takes Keith a second to figure out that the plastic that Lance is referring to is his card. Little fluff flops onto their side on Keith's lap. Keith gently places one hand on the bunny's belly and he hands Lance the card. "When you use the card, make sure the black stripe is down and the side with the gold square goes in first."

Lance listens intently and walks inside, swallowing hard when he realizes there are a lot of words to read. _what does Keith like to drink?_ feeling silly if he were to go back now, Lance nervously walks up to the counter and looks at photos before seeing a colorful drink. "Two-two of those please? I will pay with this." He says after the barista asks for his order.

The barista smile and nods. They type the order in then say," Go ahead and insert the card." They then turn to the person making the drinks and tell them Lance's order.

Lance looks at the machine and has to search for where to put it then repeats Keith's words before putting the card in. He watches as something shows up on the screen but he isn't sure what it is so he just nervously looks at the barista before looking back.

 _name_

He can read that and starts to write Keith's name as best he can, mumbling as he does. "It's even harder to write on here."

"The drinks will be ready for you in a little bit, would you like us to bring it to your table?" The cashier asked as they handed Lance a receipt.

Lance takes the paper and nods. "I'm at the table outside with the cute boy and bunny." He smiles and starts to walk out the door while trying to read the name of whatever he ordered.

Keith had opened the bag of bunny food and was in the process of feeding little fluff when Lance walks out the door. Just as he was about to call for Lance, someone tapped his shoulder.

Lance walks out the door, still doing his best to read the paper. He turns toward the table and starts to smile before seeing another person at the table and freezes.

"Surprised to see you back outside so soon." Lotor says before taking a seat across from Keith, not exactly giving him a chance to say no. "And without your guardian."

Keith glares at Lotor. "I'm fine without Shiro watching me all the time." He pets Little fluff, trying to keep himself calm.

"Oh. I meant your siren." Lotor smiles before looking over to see Lance walking up. "I suppose I assumed wrong." He leans on his arm and looks the two of them over. "You two are quite the talk of the town already."

Lance walks behind Keith and grips Keith's shirt nervously. Keith leans back, trying to make his head rest against Lance but the chair is in the way. "I can tell. It's mostly your work, isn't it?" Little fluff finishes the food in Keith hand and starts making oink like sounds again.

Lance reaches down and pets Little fluff, trying with all his might to stay calm. He's something between horrified and ready to attack. This odd mix of emotion is likely noticeable - at least to Keith. Especially when he talks and its strained. "You still hungry Little fluff?" He reaches into the bag and grabs more of the snacks.

"Not entirely no." Lotor shrugs but smirks. "Though I'm sure I played my part." He sighs and raises his eyebrows. "Can't hide news of a siren and his Lazarus boyfriend though. It really was quite the show." A momentary pang of guilt _actually_ shows on his face. "How are you holding up from...everything?"

Now having a free hand, Keith wraps his arm around Lance's. He lightly rubs Lance's arm and leans his head closer. "Everything is okay I guess," Keith shrugs. "The wounds are just very inconvenient."

Lance takes a deep breath and calms a bit when Keith is touching him again bit stays quiet. Not sure what else to do, he hands Keith his plastic thing back and whines a bit.

"I can only imagine." Lotor looks the two of them over and shakes his head. "You should have told someone that your boyfriend was a siren. And that he was obviously harmless. Save the headache, you know?" He says this and Lance actually snarls at him. Surprised, Lotor _almost_ jumps.

Keith quickly puts his card back into his pocket and re-wraps his arm around Lance's. When Lance snarls, Keith quickly rubs Lance's arm again and nuzzles into it. "Sssshhh it's okay," he whispers. He doesn't stop giving Lance attention until he calms down and stops snarling. "And risk your father doing what he did sooner? No thanks. We both know that nothing can change his mind."

Lance nods but stays tense as he protectively wraps his arms around Keith. Quietly, Lance growls, "I'm not entirely harmless."

Lotor touches his forehead. "While that may be true, you also would have had a town to agree with you instead of a town scared by bedtime stories." Lotor sighs then points as a server comes over with their drinks.

The server places the two drinks in front of Lance and Keith. Keith nods to them in thanks before they flee, probably sensing the tension. "Would you do it?" Keith asks Lotor. "Lance did technically use a song on me a few times. I went with his into his cave without telling Shiro, causing Lance to be captured. It's a huge risk to tell people without knowing for sure their reaction."

"Of course I would have." Lotor says with a wave of his hand then points to Lance. "Look at him. Most people would have realized he wasn't a threat. And lets be real, had you told people up front, could it have turned out worse?"

Keith glared, knowing that Lotor had a good point. "But you're not the one in fear of being attacked." Keith nuzzles Lance's arm again to calm himself down.

"Neither would you have been." Lotor says with a raised eyebrow. He looks at Lance who has silently started to glare at him. "And if the town seemed less than thrilled, he could have returned home. Right?" He shakes his head. "End of drama. No more stab wounds."

Lance grips the chair so tight his hands hurt and clenched his teeth down hard. "Oh yes. Wonderful. Then I go back to living alone if you humans decide I'm too scary." He growls again.

Keith grips Lance's arm tighter. "Yeah, I'm not the one who would be in fear which is why I wouldn't do it. He couldn't even go back home! He was originally _cursed_ to be human!"

Lance leans down and kisses Keith. "Shh. I love you. Its ok." He kisses him again then glares over to Lotor. "We are happy. We plan to stay as such. And if I've learned anything, it's to not dwell on the past."

Keith relaxes and nuzzles more into Lance's arm. "Let's go," he whispers, not wanting to be here anymore.

Lance nods then picks up Little Fluff before helping Keith. "The company did turn a bit foul." He agrees as he wraps his arm around Keith and starts to walk. "I'll help you change your bandages when we get home, ok?"

Keith holds the bag of bunny food. It's held between his arm and his chest while he held one of the two drink in his hand. It hurts a little to hold the bunny food as he is but he ignores it. Keith nods and takes a sip of the drink. "Our little outing was mostly fun," Keith smiles at Lance.

Lance smiles at Keith and leans in and kisses him deeply, which gets a headbutt of jealousy out of Little fluff. He giggles then leans down and gives the bunny a kiss on its twitchy nose. "Yeah it was." He looks at the bunny. "So we should probably drop Little fluff off huh?"

"Yeah." Keith leans over and also gives little fluff a small kiss. "Do..." Keith feels bad for bringing this up. "How far do you think you can carry me? My limp really slows us down." He really doesn't want Lance to know that his arm hurts.

"I can try to make it home." Lance smiles, knowing Keith must really need the help if he's asking. Once by the edge of the wooded area, Lance puts down Little fluff. "Ok, you run along to your family." He then turns and grabs Keith, carefully carrying him bridal style. Once secure, he kisses Keith on the lips and smiles. "You could have asked me for this at any point you know.

"I don't want to make you push yourself. You're probably still tired from carrying me out here," Keith replies. He feels guilty for even needing to ask.

Little fluff hopped towards a bush. Before disappearing, they looked back at Lance and Keith and wiggled their nose. Lance wiggles his nose back at little fluff as best he can then waves at the bunny as it hops away. He then looks back to Keith and smiles sweetly. "It's the least I can do." He hums then kisses Keith's forehead.

"Just let me know if you get tired." Keith blushes lightly and nuzzles into Lance's chest.

Lance holds him a bit closer. "I'll be fine." He says before crossing the street. "It's not too far and we can relax together after." He happily carries him closer to the home before starting to sing.

Keith can feel himself starting to get tired but he keeps himself awake by taking sips of the drink Lance ordered. The bunny food bag rested on his stomach.

Lance struggles to open the door once they get home then carries Keith to the bedroom and lays him down before cuddling. "Told you I'd be fine."

"Thank you," Keith mumbles. The bunny food and the drink are on the side table. "How often should we go visit Little fluff?"

Lance cuddles next to Keith and hums tiredly. "As often as you'd like to. I'm sure they'd like to see us again." He sings before sweetly kissing Keith's neck.

"Everyday then. People say that bunnies can die from loneliness and I'd rather not find out if it's true or not." Keith cuddles into Lance more.

"That would be so sad." Lance whines then nods. "We got to visit our special spot every day and see our bunny child." Lance basically sings the words. "I love that idea."

Keith smiles. "Do you think Little fluff with bring family and friends tomorrow?" He can picture himself and Lance surrounded by bunnies and other small animals.

"Awww and we could feed them all and name them?!" Lance giggles thinking about it then kisses Keith before jolting up. "Should we clean your wounds and change your bandages?!"

Keith slowly sits up. "If you think we should. Might be easier to do it now rather than later." They might end up being too lazy to get up later.

"I just thought you said before we sleep." He pouts then touches Keith's cheek. "If you think we should we will. Otherwise I'm fine waiting til morning and just snuggling until we fall asleep."

Keith thinks for a moment. "I think it's better to sleep with fresh bandages."

Lance nods then slips out of the bed and tiredly lifts Keith up and carries him to the bathroom. After setting him down, Lance stretches his back then grabs the first aid kit. "I'll be gentle." Then he takes of Keith's shirt and starts to remove bandages.

Keith watches Lance with a loving smile. "Would you like to do the human's way of being a courted couple?"

"Huh?" Lance looks up at him, having been a bit too focused on not hurting him to understand what he said at first. Once the words process, he smiles again. "Of course. I'd love that." Lance leans up and kisses Keith then grabs some of the disinfectant. "What do you do?" He asks as he carefully cleans it before putting fresh medicated bandages on.

Keith does his best not to flinch as he explains. "It's what Matt and Shiro are going to do. After someone proposes, you plan out the wedding. Sometimes the couple plans it out or they get help from a professional. You invite friends and family to be at the ceremony. Everyone dresses up nicely and talks with one another. Some people dance at weddings."

"That sounds fun." He smiles brilliantly. "We use to do something similar the first solstice after courting." Lance wraps Keith up then works on the next wound gently as he continues. "Lavish meals, lots of singing, decorating of nests." He leans up and kisses Keith. "If you want to do it...I would love that."

"Then we'll do a combination of the two. I'm sure the others would love to partake in some of your traditions." Keith smiles.

Lance lights up then runs his fingers back over Keith's ear. "I am going to love you forever." He says lovingly. "So whatever makes you happiest also makes me happiest."

Keith blushes and gives Lance a love sick smile. "We'll plan it out together."

Lance finishes bandaging Keith then tiredly carries him back to the room. Lance lays down, clearly exhausted. "That sounds great." He says tiredly, face buried in the pillow.

Keith nuzzles into Lance. "Love you forever, Nixie," he whispers.

"Hmmm. Forever and ever, my Karmele."


	21. Chapter 205 (Shiro and Matt NSWF)

Recap:

[Matt was lost in a mobile game until he notices Shiro scooting in close so he drops his phone and snatches Shiro up, dragging him onto his chest. "Good game gorgeous." He smirks. "Should I reward your win?"

"That would be nice," Shiro smiled as he cuddles into Matt.]

Matt snickers then wraps his legs around Shiro, locking him in place. Raising an eyebrow, he smirks. "Nice you say huh?"

Shiro blushes slightly. "It really all depends on what you're planning." Matt has teased him before. Playing as if the reward is sex related but then it being just a quick kiss.

"Oh I hadn't _planned_ anything." Matt says with his eyebrow raised. He trails his fingers teasingly up Shiro's sides. "But I'm sure I could come up with _something._ "

Shiro's blush darkens. Matt is such a tease and he hates it. Shiro is a very patient man but that doesn't ally to situations like this.

Matt watches Shiro turn more red and his lopsided smirk only grows. He hmms while touching his cheek and looking toward the ceiling. "What to do? What to dooo..." He rocks his hips against Shiro once without looking at him.

Shiro whines so softly that he doesn't even know if Matt could hear it. He rocks his hips against Matt and hopes he actually does something.

Matt feels Shiro move and his smile grows somehow more devious. "Did you need to move? I can let you go. Just trying to think of a good reward, you know?" He trails his fingers over Shiro's neck as gently as he can as he looks at him with such a teasing look he might as well be an imp.

Shiro frowns. "I'm perfectly fine right here," he says as he tries rocking his hips again.

"You sure? You look antsy." His lips curl a bit more. "And I'd _hate_ to keep you from something you want." He snickers before leaning up and biting down on Shiro's shoulder for a second.

Shiro silently moans then glares at Matt. He huffs and just lays limply on Matt.

Matt laughs at Shiro's reaction then tightens his legs around him and grinds again. "Maybe I just read you wrong. A nap maybe?" He trails his fingers down Shiro's back. "So sorry if you're tired."

Shivers run down his spine at the same pace Matt's fingers does. "I'm not that tired but you can tire me out."

Matt smirks, this is seriously too much fun. He drags his nails back up Shiro's back. "I mean, I guess I could sing you a lullabye or something. Seems like a pretty lame award though." He grinds his hips against Shiro as he says this. Watching Shiro break is still his favorite thing.

Shiro groans," You know what I mean."

"Do I? Do I know what you mean?" Matt tilts his head and smirks. "I'm pretty dense. Maybe you need to spell it out for me." He flashes a toothy grin before dragging his nails across Shiro's lower back and hips.

"Matt," Shiro whines. He sits up enough to be able to start pulling down Matt's pants. "Just touch me already." He slips his hand in to wrap around Matt's hardened dick.

Matt takes a deep breath, trying hard to remain teasing and clear headed. "I _was_ touching you." He sniggers. "All up your back, you were laying on me..." He runs both hands up Shiro's legs and releases a shaky breath.

"Touch me here," Shiro forces one of Matt's hands to go to his groin. His other hand starts to pump Matt.

Matt starts to rub Shiro with one hand before using his other to undo his pants, trying hard to stay level headed with Shiro's hand working him. "Yes sir." He finally responds in a breathy voice as he is finally able to get his hands to agree with him and he's able to get one hand working Shiro's dick while the other plays with his balls.

Shiro moans softly and starts to pump faster. Now that he finally got Matt to do as he wants, he wants more.

Matt smirks and pulls the hand that wasn't pumping Shiro back and slips it away to an inside pocket of the couch. (Yes, he put it there. No one else knows it's a thing) he pulls out a small bottle and - with one hand- starts to lube his fingers up - almost hoping Shiro is too happy to realize what he's doing - then inserts two of his fingers and works both parts of Shiro. He sits himself up a bit for better leverage and to try to keep himself clear headed. "Oh you meant touch you like _this_?" He teasingly whispers into Shiro's ear.

Shiro arcs his back, pressing his chest against Matt's. He moans louder and his free hand grips onto Matt's shoulder. "Matt~" His pumping hand freezes while he tries to clear his head even for his body to follow orders.

"That's right." Matt smirks when Shiro freezes, rather enjoying how turned on Shiro is right now. He slides a third finger in and starts thrusting it hard while never slowing down his other hand. "What should I do next, master?" He raises an eyebrow toward Shiro. Knowing he often has fun with this game - if he can manage to think long enough that is.

Shiro is already breathing hard. It takes him a second to be able to answer. "Matt," he moans again," More. I need more." He starts to pump Matt again as he rocks his own hips.

Matt licks his lower lip before biting on it. He slides his pants off the rest of the way, eyes hungrily watching Shiro react. "Yes sir. Right away sir." He leans in, purposefully knocking Shiro backwards as he does, while somehow managing to keep up his pace with the hand pumping him. Using a combination of his hands and feet, Matt gets Shiro's pants off and pushes his Shirt up - he wants more eye candy dammit - then he grabs the lube and preps himself this time. "Permission to, what did you say-" he starts to rub against Shiro's hole and _almost enters_ but doesn't just yet, "-tire you out?"

Shiro releases Matt as he is pushed down. He spreads his legs and is such a whiny moaning mess. He whines when Matt has to stop touching him in order to prep and his hips are already bucking when Matt gives him attention again. "Permission granted," Shiro tries to play along but Matt can tell he is begging for it.

Matt raises an eyebrow and thrusts into him fast and hard. While doing that, he doesn't stop his hand - at least at first. "Tell me - what you want." He says between thrusts, knowing full well Shiro will struggle to speak.

Shiro's moans get louder. "Ha-aahhh~ Mor- Ahhhh~!" It doesn't help that Matt knows exactly where to hit. He starts to buck his hips, hoping that Matt wouldn't continue teasing him.

"More?" Matt stops pumping to lift Shiro's legs up so he can hit deeper. After hooking Shiro's legs over his shoulders, Matt uses one arm to hold him in place before wrapping the other back around and starting to pump him again. "Fuck - Shiro - fucking -" Matt finds himself Horridly turned on as he listens to him.

Shiro's head is tilted all the way back as he is practically screaming in pleasure. He can't buck his hips because Matt is holding him down but Matt can feel him trying.

Matt finally starts to moan and gasp for air. Watching Shiro is like taking ecstasy. He thrusts hard into him and starts to move a bit faster. "I-won't last - much longer Shiro."

"In ahhh~! Inside," Shiro moans. He is going to cum soon too, his hole is already starting to tighten around Matt.

Matt starts pounding into Shiro. "Takashi," he groans the name and thrusts a bit more until he feels Shiro tightening to climax. "You are - so - damn - sexy." He is dangerously close to cumming but he _really_ wants to finish Shiro first so he takes a couple deep breaths and keep a working him

"Ma-aahhh~! Matthew! Aaaahh!" Shiro cums. His hips buck a little, Matt isn't able to keep him still anymore.

Matt thrusts through Shiro's orgasm and doesn't take much more before he too is finishing. He kisses Shiro as he does but cant help but moan into it. When he came, Matt pulls away and gasps, "Takashi."

Shiro moans softly as his insides are filled. He moans again when Matt pulls out.

Matt kisses Shiro again then takes a deep breath. "We should go...take a shower." He says before collapsing his head into Shiro's shoulder.

Shiro chuckles. "Yeah, we should. Do you want me to carry you there?" He nuzzles into Matt's hair.

"Pffft." Matt laughs a bit then kisses Shiro's cheek. "I'll make it there. I'm not like I was after the ferris wheel." He says teasingly.

Shiro chuckles. "If you say so." He starts to sit up, bringing Matt up with him.

Matt snatches up their clothes and strips off his shirt even before they've made it to their room. "Maybe I should try playing a game next. Get a reward too?" He raises an eyebrow.

Shiro chuckles. "Only if you win. Lance might be a real challenge if he isn't distracted."

"Yeah but there's a reason Pidge and I don't play anymore. So..." He leans in and bites Shiro's lip.

Shiro hums. "Cause you always lose?" he teases.

Matt huffs. "That's rude." He can't help but smirk though. "I'd say it was pretty even...up until last year...or two..."

Shiro nuzzles into Matt's hair again. "Let's hurry and take a shower." He can feel Matt's cum starting to drip down his leg and he would rather not have to clean it off the floor.

Matt slips away and starts the shower. He turns when he hears Shiro nearing him then steps in and sighs. "Showers are best."

"Unless they are cold." Shiro sticks his head under the water to get his hair all wet.

"But if you need a cold shower?" Matt smirks,"then they are pretty great." He trails his hands up Shiro's chest. "Thank chef boyardee for spaghettio man."

Shiro laughs through his nose. "What? Is that supposed to actually mean something?"

"Well yeah. It's basically how I started talking to you." Matt shrugs. "And..." He looks Shiro over and sighs, "well I'm stupid lucky, ok?"

"You are indeed stupid lucky." Shiro hugs Matt. "To think you can guess on an entire test and still get above a B."

Matt huffs and shakes his head. "That's so not what I meant and you know it." He happily hugs back. "Plus that was only once...probably."

Shiro shakes his head with a smile. "Do you want to go first?" He asks.

Matt kisses Shiro's chest. "I don't care. You know I'm a perv that likes watching you."

"Then I'll go first. Want to help me get all your cum out?" Shiro asked then in a whisper called Matt a pervert, just for the fun of it.

Matt smirks and raises an eyebrow. "I feel like that would just end in a whole new mess." Matt teases. "But I can try." He leans in close. "What would be best?"

"This is why I'm going first." Shiro smirks back. "Your fingers should just be enough unless you think differently." He rocks his hips slightly.

Matt bite his lower lip and takes a deep breath. "Fuck Shiro." He steps in close then grabs Shiro's ass with both hands. "How are you this damn hot?" He bites his lip a bit harder. "It should be illegal or something."

Shiro groans at his butt being held. It fits so perfectly in Matt's hands. "That just means that you have to keep me all to yourself."

Matt lifts Shiro's hand up, shiving the ring in his face. "I fully intend to dear." He leans up and kisses Shiro deeply the trails his fingers between Shiro's cheeks and can't help but smile a bit.

Shiro moans into the kiss. He still can't believe that he is engaged to Matt. He also still can't believe that it was Matt who proposed. It's a good thing he was still trying to figure out which idea of his own was the best way to propose to Matt.

Matt continues to kiss as he teases Shiro's hole. "You're sure you want me to help?" He whispers.

"Would you prefer a show instead?" Shiro rocks his hips again.

Matt's eyes basically burn into Shiro and he groans before pushing him against the wall of the shower and leaning down to lick and suck his nipple before inserting two fingers. "Maybe next time." He teases while switching to the other side of Shiro's chest.

Shiro moans as he arches his back. He was still sensitive from cumming.

Matt watches him and working him for a but, just as Shiro is obviously starting to get into it, Matt pulls away. An impish smile grows on his face. "Probably clean now."

Shiro whines softly when Matt pulls out his fingers. "I think there's still more." He rolls his hips again.

Matt smirks as he watches Shiro react then bites his lip. "Fuck, you might be right." He is a little more forceful this time, hoping to really drive him over the edge. Matt bites at Shiro's neck then starts to finger him again, moving his hand faster before sliding the other down to his hardened dick. "Should I try to clean this out too?"

Shiro moans loudly. His hands travel to Matt's shoulders and moans," Yes."

Matt grins. He knows Shiro is expecting his hand to do the job but... "Well, we don't want to make more of a mess do we?" He says as he slowly kneels down, never stopping his hand as he takes Shiro into his mouth. Knowing he's not as good as Shiro, Matt still does his best to please him. He can't help that Shiro is big and he has a gag reflex dammit.

Shiro leans his head back and grips onto Matt's shoulder tightly. "Matt~!" he moans as his whole body shivers.

Matt decides to use his other hand to pump what he cant fit in his mouth while doing his best to keep up the pace of his thrusting fingers. Damn Shiro is ridiculously sexy when he's turned on.

"M-Maatt~ Close!" His moans get louder as he forces himself not the thrust his hips. The pleasure may be overwhelming but he can still remember that Matt really can't take anymore than what he already has.

Matt licks him and sucks him off until Shiro comes and does his best to swallow without coughing. Fuck that's annoying, shouldn't he have managed to improve his gag reflex after all this time? Trying not to get too discouraged, he pulls away and pulls his hands back carefully. "Clean now?"

Shiro is leaning against the wall behind him and panting. "Yeah. All clean," he says between breaths.

Matt sneakily stands back up. He smiles and leans into Shiro. "Good. Would hate to leave a mess." His voice is teasing despite being breathless.

Shiro chuckles softly. "Do you want to wash my hair too or just regular shower?" They don't always wash each other when they shower together.

Matt snickers. "Probably best for a regular shower at this point." He teases before pushing himself against Shiro and kissing along his jawline. "Sexiest. Husband. Ever."

Shiro smiles and reaches for the shampoo bottle. He pours some into his hand then waits for Matt to hold out his hand so he can pour some for him too.

Matt follows suit and wastes no time in starting to wash his hair. "This shampoo is different isn't it?" He takes a deep breath, noting the smell. "Switching things up on me."

"I thought you might like this one more." It doesn't take Shiro long before he is rinsing out the shampoo. He grabs the conditioner and waits.

"I do like it more." Matt laughs. "I just didn't expect you to change it is all." He rinses his had then uses the conditioner. "Have I mentioned lately how lucky I am?"

Shiro chuckles," Yes you have." Again he is the first one to rinse.

Matt rinses the second Shiro moves. "Still probably not enough." He responds in a silly voice. "Because there is literally no way a better husband exists."

Shiro gives Matt a quick kiss before passing the soap. "Are you going to be like this even after the actual wedding?" he teases.

"Probably worse!" Matt teases right back at Shiro then laughs. "And then when I get senile and crazy, oh man, I'll probably tell you about how awesome you are."

Shiro chuckles. "Will there be any way to shut you up?"

"I can think of a way to shut me up for the next handful of years anyway." Matt smirks with his eyebrow raised. "But once I'm old and crazy all bets are off." He leans in and hugs Shiro before planting a passionate kiss on his lips.

Shiro hugs Matt, pulling the shorter man closer and deepening the kiss.

Matt moans and almost whines into the kiss. He lifts his arms up and digs his nails into Shiro's hair. Will he ever not be head over heels for this man?

Shiro lightly scratches Matt's back and moans. He mentally laughs at their situation. They had just showered and they are already in a heated kiss.

Matt gasps into the kiss as Shiro starts to scratch at him. He pulls away and takes a deep breath. "Did you put something in the coffee? I'm not usually this... _thirsty._ " He questions devilishly.

"I didn't do anything. Are you sure you're not is some sort of heat?" Shiro places his forehead against Matt's.

Matt licks Shiro's lips then meows and scratches his chest. "Could be." He pouts playfully. "Think you could keep up if I was?" His smile grows devilish.

"What will you do if I can't?" Shiro challenged. He moves one hand down and cups Matt's butt.

Matt pouts when Shiro starts to talk. "I guess I'd have to- ah -" he is caught off guard by Shiro's hand, "I dunno, probably help myself out." He smirks up to Shiro.

Shiro hums and rubs Matt's butt a little. "I think I can keep up," he says with a smirk.

Matt almost melts at Shiro's touch. "Then fuck me." Matt basically begs. "Please." He pushes hard against him and kisses Shiro hard.

Shiro hums into the kiss. His other hand travels down and slowly inserts a finger inside Matt.

Matt moans and gasps as he accidentally pulls away from the kiss. "More, baby. More." He whines the second more.

"So needy," Shiro teases but enters a second finger in and moves them in and out faster. Not long after Shiro is able to slip in a third finger.

"Fuuuck." Matt grabs Shiro and works himself into his hand more. God how is he still so horny?! "Take me Shiro. I want to feel you." He begs.

"Face the wall," Shiro whispers huskily into Matt's ear. He pulls out his fingers and watches as Matt does as told. Coming up behind him, he rubs his head against Matt's hole before slowly pushing himself in.

"Yes sir." Matt moans, never really able to stop himself from playing at least a little. He moans loudly when Shiro enters him then hisses out a, "fuuck yesss." When they start to move faster.

Shiro grips tightly onto Matt's hip and starts to thrust deeper and faster. God, he is still so sensitive.

"Fu-fuck." Matt is almost yelling in pleasure. His head rests against the wall and he moans a bit louder with every thrust. "Takashi. Takashi~"

Shiro groans," Matthew." His nails start to dig into Matt's skin. "Close?" Shiro will feel bad if he cums too early.

"Hah-ah. Yes." He claws at the wall, calling out Shiro's full name. "Just don't stop." He whines in a moan.

"Cum for me," Shiro whispers and starts to pound into Matt.

Matt screams in ecstasy and, almost on cue, orgasms at Shiro's words.

Shiro moans as Matt tightens around him and cums. Once he is done, he slowly pulls out of Matt but keeps his hold on Matt's hips.

Matt definitely would have fallen if Shiro had let go. He steadies himself then turns around and grabs him in a tight hug. "Damn I love you." He says playfully.

Shiro smiles and hugs back just as tightly. "I love you too." He combs a hand though Matt's wet hair. "Are we done now or do you need more?"

"I might be done for now I guess." Matt says breathlessly.

Shiro chuckles and turns off the water. While still holding Matt, he grabs towels for the both of them.

Matt dries off lazily then wanders toward the bed and collapses with a love drunk smile. "So what color theme are we going for for the wedding?" He says playfully, knowing it will likely garnish a bashful smile.

"Purple and orange?" Shiro suggests as he falls onto the bed next to Matt. He is fully dry but kept the towel around him.

"With splashes of maroon?" He cuddles into Shiro and sighs. "And have Hunk make our food so we know it'll be the best ever?"

"Are we both wearing suites or do you plan to buy a dress?" Shiro half teased, knowing full well that Matt would be silly enough to wear a dress. It won't be the first time.

Matt laughs. "I would be a gorgeous blushing bride and you know it." He snuggles then yawns. "But probably - maybe - both suits."

Shiro chuckles. He'll just have to wait until the day of the wedding to know what Matt decides to wear. He pulls the blanket over both of them. "Good night," Shiro whispers.

"Mmmnight." Matt cuddles closer and finds himself asleep faster than usual.

Shiro nuzzles into Matt's hair and slowly fell asleep himself. Matt really did tire him out, what a perfect reward.


	22. Chapter 21: Epilogue

It's the day that Keith and Lance decided to hold their ceremony. It's a mix of a wedding and Lance's merpeople tradition. They decided only invite their close friends and their parents since... there really isn't anyone else to invite. Keith is fully healed but the scars left behind are pretty dark. He and Shiro are setting up the beach chairs and towels for everyone while Matt is helping Lance rehearce the ring part of the ceremony.

"You say talk about how much you love him and then you put the ring on the left ring finger," Matt instructs and points to the ring on his hand. Since this isn't really an official wedding, it's all up in the air about how it will go. Everyone agreed that they will make the ring part of the ceremony will be short since they are all highly interesting in getting to the merpeople traditions.

Once everything is ready, everyone changes into swim trunks. Pidge is also wearing a swim shirt. Everyone goes back outside and sees Allura standing there in a baby pink and blue bikini with a turtle behind her. It's the same turtle from the aquarium.

"You guys came!" Lance cheers as he runs over to hug the white haired girl. He giggles before pulling away and squatting down to pet the turtle. "I'm really glad you are able to make it too."

"Of course we would come, I'm not going to miss this," Allura says and steps out of the water. She waits for Lance to step back before picking up the turtle. "Come on Corran, let's go sit on the towel they set up for us."

Everyone else is getting the last little things that need to get done as Hunk and his moms bring the food out. The taller of the two moms also volunteered to be a stand in for an official wedding officiant.

Once everything is set, the wedding ceremony starts. "Welcome everyone, to this ceremony celebrating the union of a human and ex-merperson," Hunk's Mom starts out, causing laughter. Hunk's Mama gives a light glare to her wife, who ends up laughing a bit. "To the wedding of Keith and Lance. We already know you all support this and will do whatever you can do to help defend their union." Mom then turns her attention to just Keith and Lance. "You have been through so much more than most couples go through in their entire life. Thank you for being yourselves and for making it this far, hopefully your life only gets easier."

They skip doing the vows since everyone agreed that a dedicated song and dance would be much more meaningful for Lance. They go straight to the rings.

Matt gets up from his seat next to Shiro and brings up a cute jewelry box. He opens it as he steps into the water. To be dramatic, he gets down on both knees and hold the box up like it's a holy object.

Lance was the one who picked out the rings. They are matching gold bands with waves and shells engraved on the outside. On the inside, the endearing term the other person uses for them is engraved.

Both Keith and Lance grab the ring closer to them. While Keith is marveling over the details, Lance decides to go first. He gently takes Keith's left hand and looks nervously looks at his mate. "You are my life and I love you so much." His eyes get as soft as they have ever been. "I love you so much, karmele." He _really_ wants to kiss Keith right now but Matt told him to put on the ring. It takes a second or two for him to make sure he got the right finger before slipping the ring on. To ease his need a bit, he kisses the ring before letting go.

Keith is left a blushing mess. Knowing that Pidge or their dad is taking video of this only makes it worse. "You gave me life. I'm only here because of you and I don't regret getting fatally injured. They are marks that show that I have risked my life to reach you and I will gladly do it again if I need to." He gently takes Lance's left hand and slowly slips on the ring. "I love you so much too, Nixie."

"Hurry up and kiss," Mom whispers but it's loud enough for everyone else to hear. Both Keith and Lance smiles and gladly kiss. Everyone cheers and then run into the water. The newly wedded couple is splashed from both sides and now everyone is laughing.

Pidge's father is the last one into the water since he had to make sure the camera still has enough battery and turn on the music. It's similar to people dancing at a wedding, just in the water and some of them swimming around.

The first song is for Keith and Lance. They both sing as they do a simple sway. The second song, Keith goes to Shiro and Lance to Matt. As each song starts, they move to the next person to do their own silly version of dancing to the song. Whenever someone danced with Lance, it was mostly swimming. The very last song is Keith and Lance again. Only the couples continued to dance while the others went a little distance away to play around.

"I love you Karmele," Lance whispers and kisses Keith. He then nuzzles into Keith's neck as they continue to float around on their backs.

"I love you too Nixie," Keith whispers back. He kisses Lance's forehead. "Has the ceremony been as great as you thought it would be?"

"Far better," he answers. Having the parents of his friends partake in some of the merpeople's traditions is amazing. Lance sits up to kiss Keith again but Pidge interrupts them.

"Come on lovebirds! It's time to eat!" Pidge yells. Hunk and Mama is helping serve everyone despite Shiro's argument that he can do it himself.

Matt playfully elbows his husband and whispers,"You know you like being babied. You love it when I spoil you." That causes Shiro to blush and quickly walks to their chairs once he got his food. "Baby! Come baaaaack!" He laughs and quickly follows.

Lance picks up Keith, which surprises the shorter male. "Since we are the wedded ones, we must feed each other," he says cheerfully and quickly brings his Karmele to their towel. "Stay here and I'll get food for both of us." He kisses Keith one more time before going to get said food.

When Lance comes back, he has spaghetti hanging out from his mouth. "Uhh… Lance?" Keith asks with a confused expression. Lance carefully sets the two plates down on the towel before moving to have the ends of the noodles brush up against Keith's lips. This isn't influenced by Matt _at all_.

It takes Keith a second to catch up to speed. Shyly, he eats the hanging spaghetti until his lips are pressed up against Lance's. Cheers from Matt can be heard, that also means it has also been recorded.

The rest of the ceremony is just eating all the food and chilling in the water more. The entire time, Lance and Keith were feeding each other but only the spaghetti was shared in such a super lovey dovey way.


End file.
